Blood Dreams
by Chiyume
Summary: Gaara stared at the hand clutching his own and then there was a feeling as if someone had taken a knife and driven it straight through the palm of his hand. After that, all hell broke loose… .Rated M for mature cont. Not for the faint of heart!
1. Prolouge: Escaping the Darkness

**Now, this is my Own Character Naruto Fan Fiction.**

**Please, read this and tell me if you want me to continue.**

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**Prologu****e – Escaping the Darkness**

Murky wasn't enough to describe it.

Pitch black came close enough but still didn't quite do.

The sound of water dripping from the ceiling of the cave, splashing down into puddles on the stone floor, echoing in the silence.

The air reeked of animalistic smells, acrid and sour like the tiger pen at a zoo. And there were something else underneath that smell. A damp stench of mould, the metallic taste of blood and the unmistakable smell of excrements was almost suffocating.

There was the sound of a big door opening, screeching hinges, worn by rust and age, sounding loudly in the deep silence.

A figure emerged in the light of the doorway with a torch lifted over its head.

Bright light streamed down the stone corridor for a couple of seconds before the big door closed again.

The figure started walking down the path; the flare in its hand hissed and flickered when the water from the ceiling fell on it.

The illumination revealed iron bars covering the entrances to numerous cells on each side of the walkway.

Eyes peered out through the darkness, hungerly eyeing at the sack thrown over the visitors shoulder and glaring hatefully at its carrier.

A foul, raw stench came from the sack, streamed through the dark and snaked its way through the metal bars.

A low growling started to emerge from the cells when their inhabitants began noticing their newly arrived guest.

"Shut up."

The light reflected itself dangerously in a pair of round glasses as the figure turned around and kicked at a cell opening. The growling stopped and the silver haired man continued down the path.

Kabuto hated to feed the jikken.

He kept on walking, not letting himself be bothered by the murderous eyes that flashed at him.

Suddenly a hand stretched out between the bars of a cell, grappling in the air after him.

"Food… pleasche…" it begged, not more then a scorched whisper.

Kabuto stopped and glanced at the prisoner in the cell.

The face in front of him looked as if it had been ripped straight out from a mad mans worst nightmares.

The man's nose was almost completely gone; in its place was only a mushy half decomposed piece of meat with two holes for nostrils, like the grotesque snout of a pig.

The bottom jaw was hanging down, filled to the brim with irregularly placed, sharp teeth, fangs that had pierced the upper lip and slit it into pieces, the remains of it hanging down in bloody rags.

Milky, unseeing eyes were staring out into nothing.

The man was blind.

"Food… pleasche… scho hungry…"

His voice cracked and Kabuto could se his tongue move dangerously close to the shark like teeth. A piece of it was missing, silent proof that close contact had happened in the past.

Kabuto smirked and put the sack down and opened it.

The man's nostrils fluttered when the smell of its contents reached him and a silent whimpering crossed his ravaged lips.

The silver haired ninja reached down into the bag and pulled up a piece of raw meat and threw it in between the bars with a snigger.

The man crawled up to the meat, fumbling over the ground with his hands until he found it. He grabbed it with both hands and eagerly shoved it into his mouth, ripping the piece in two, blood and lumps of red meat running down his chin.

Kabuto watched him eat, watched the animalistic glow of hunger in those blind eyes erase all traces of humanity from his face as he devoured the raw mass.

They all turned like that.

Sooner or later.

He picked up the bag again and kept walking.

Sometimes he'd stop and randomly throw pieces of meat from the sack into the cages.

They didn't deserve to be called cells.

Disappointed growls were heard from the ones that didn't get any, but they were silenced with a harsh look from the sound ninja.

Soon the distance between the cells grew wider and the further he went the fewer they became.

The water was no longer dripping; it was streaming down the stone walls. The path narrowed down and the ceiling lowered with every step.

He stopped at the end of the tunnel, raising the torch higher to see through the bars of the last cell.

There was complete silence now. The growls from the other jikken had died out and Kabuto could only hear the sound of his own silent breathing.

Normally Orochimaru would be here with him for this, but ever since the Uchiha prodigy arrived two years ago, Kabuto went alone.

This was his pet after all…

There was still no movement inside the cage, and he leaned forward, edging closer to the cell, carefully peering into the compact darkness.

Then there was a sudden motion and a hand came flashing out between the bars, clawing after his face.

Kabuto jumped back with a startled gasp, but still the hand managed to tare the glasses from his nose and they fell to the ground with a rattle.

A disappointed growl was heard from within the darkness.

Kabuto breathed out slowly.

That had been a close call.

Too close…

He straightened up and brushed his shirt of.

"Now, now, Kitten. That's not a very nice way to greet your keeper, is it?"

He bent down and picked up his glasses, eyed them and then put them back on.

He gazed into the cell at the shadow crouching behind the bars.

Yellow eyes glared back at him.

"I brought something for you, Kitten."

Kabuto pulled up a big piece of meat from the bag and held it up. Blood trickled down it's surface, dripping onto the floor.

He threw it inside the cell were it landed at the figures feet with a sickening, wet sound.

"Special regards from Orochimaru-sama."

A dirty hand slowly picked it up and the shadow sniffed at it.

Then it hurled the piece back out at him with a snarl.

Kabuto dodged it and it hit the wall behind him with a loud splat, blood leaving a red stripe when it slid to the floor.

"That's not a very nice thing to do, Kitten…" he said reprimanding. "Orochimaru-sama will be very disappointed with this."

The figure answered by throwing itself against the metal bars, hissing and stretching out to claw at him.

"Now, don't be silly."

The shadow backed up and then threw itself against the bars again, its roar echoing through the cave. Over and over it collided with the metal, and then rubble started falling from the ceiling.

"Stop that!"

Behind him Kabuto could hear the sound of the other jikken coming to life again.

The one inside the cell kept attacking the bars, ignoring Kabuto's orders to stop.

By now a small crack had become visible at the point were the bars and ceiling connected and more, larger pieces of rubble came falling down.

The other jikken was getting surged with every slam and their howls and screams were getting louder by the second.

He had to make it stop, or they would all go into frenzy and then there was no telling what they might do.

They might even brake out.

He raised his hand and started gathering his chakra.

"Stop it, Kitten. This is the last warning you'll get."

One of the bars screeched alarming and one of them bent slightly.

"I said stop it."

Slam!

"Stop. It."

Slam!

"STOP IT!"

He launched a bolt of chakra into the cage and it hit it's target, sending it crashing to the back of the cell were it landed immobile.

"SHUT UP!"

He swirled around and shouted down the cave sending a new flash soaring through the air.

There were startled yelps and loud whimpers heard when the chakra bolt hit something and then slowly it went quiet again as the jikken calmed down.

Kabuto turned back to the cell in front of him.

There were no motions from inside.

He edged closer. The lump in the corner was still not moving.

"Hey!"

No answer.

Shit. Orochimaru would kill him if this one died.

"Hey! Answer me!"

Slowly he reached out and tore away the seal from the door, dispelled the traps on it, and then he pushed the door open.

Still nothing.

He crept inside and frowned at the stench that hit him. The cell floor in front of him was covered in dirt and something worse; he didn't want to imagine what.

He reached out a hand towards the ragged being in front of him.

If the injury wasn't too severe he would be able to heal it here.

He had done it before.

He grabbed the shoulder and turned the body over and barely managed to register a yellow gaze meeting his before pain shot through his head and everything went black.

The figure staggered to its feet and dropped the rock. There was blood on the floor flooding from the bash-wound at Kabuto' temple.

It had already started to heal up.

The shadow hissed and then it darted out the cell door and fled down the corridor.

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**Now, do you want to know what happens next?**

**OF COURSE YOU DO!!**

**Review and give me your opinions please!**


	2. With a Single Touch

**Chapter 1 ****– With a Single Touch**

It was a warm, sunny afternoon in the middle of May. The spring flowers were in full bloom, covering the fields of the Rain country in a rainbow of colours.

Birds were singing happily and a gentle breeze rustled through the treetops.

The Kazekage and his two older siblings were resting in a small clearing at the edge of the woods next to a river.

There were a lot of rivers and other stretches of waters in the Rain country and this one was on the verge of overflowing with water due to the melting of the snow coming from the mountains marking the borders to the Grass country.

The trio was travelling without an escort.

Not that they would need one.

Temari and Kankuro were elite ninjas of the Hidden village of Sand and Gaara's name were nowadays infamous both far and wide. Anyone who wasn't completely moonstruck would know better then to try and attack them.

The three of them had left the Sand for Konoha about a week ago, travelling in a comfortable, yet road winning speed. They were now about one and a half day away from their destination and had started to pick up the pace.

Gaara felt relieved that they were soon to end their journey. The bickering between his brother and sister had intensified during the trip and it was beginning to get to his nerves.

Sure, official business wasn't that much fun, but it sure beat spending a night listening to Temari and Kankuro yapping at each other.

Still, he was glad that they had come along.

Ever since the incident with the Akatsuki they refused to let him go anywhere by himself.

It had been annoying as hell at first, and the fact that they were related was the only thing that kept him from completely ticking off on them. But in time he got used to their presence and eventually grew to find it quite comfortable. Assuring even…

If only they could shut up for a minute or two sometimes.

They had been resting for about an hour when Teamri got up and arched her back, stretching out.

"We'd better get going or we won't make it to the next inn before nightfall."

Kankuro yawned.

"There's no need to rush it. We can always sleep outside like we use to."

His sister glared at him.

"I know. That's why I want an inn. I need a bath before we get to Konoha. You two wouldn't do badly with one either, we all look like a bunch of hitchhikers."

"C'mon, it's not that bad. And if you want to take a bath that badly there's an entire river just around the corner."

"Kankuro…" Temari growled.

"Okay, okay! Were going! I was just kidding. I'm just going to refill the water, all right?"

The black clad ninja got up and took his water kitbag and walked away, seemingly ignoring the daggers his sister glared at his back.

Man, Temari could be scary sometimes…

He got down to the river bank and kneeled down to refill the water. The water was always fresh here, flowing straight from the big glaciers on the mountains, icy cold and crystal clear.

He sniggered at the thought of Temari bathing in this. She would have turned into an icecube in a matter of seconds.

He stood up and looked out over the river, marvelling the bright colours of the landscape when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

There was something dark floating in the water near the brink a bit downstream maybe twenty yards from were he was standing.

"Who would throw out trash out here?" he thought and scowled.

Looking at the shadow bobbing by the surface he suddenly saw a glimpse of something bright through the darkness and gasped, dropping the kitbag and started running towards it while calling out to his siblings.

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Gaara and Temari watched as Kankuro walked down towards the river with the kitbag lazily thrown over his shoulder.

Temari sighed and rolled her eyes at the sky.

Gaara said nothing. He seldom did.

They started to pack up the little amount of things they had unpacked when they had stopped to rest when they suddenly heard a scream.

"Temari! Gaara! Come quick!"

Gaara and Temari looked at each other and then dropped everything and darted away towards the sound of Kankuro's voice.

They found him at the brink of the river, kneeling down and holding something in his arms.

"Kankuro! What's wrong?" Temari ran up to his side but froze when she saw what her brother was holding.

"I-I think she's still alive…" he whispered.

It was a girl, seemingly in the same age as themselves.

She was dressed in rags, pitiful remains of whatever garment it used to be, barely enough to cover her skinny body.

The long, raven black hair was plastered in dirty stripes across her face, skin sickly pale and lips tinted vaguely blue.

And she was soaked.

Temari kneeled beside Kankuro and placed her fingertips against the girl's neck and nodded.

"She's alive, but hardly."

"What do we do?"

Temari looked down on the girl, whose chest was moving slightly. Her eyes drifted up at Kankuro's face and then to Gaara's who met her gaze affirmatively. She nodded.

"We're taking her with us of course. The Hokage surely…"

Kankuro stood up.

"Then we need to hurry. There's no telling how long she'll last. If we run all the way we might make it before midday tomorrow…"

Gaara walked up to the unconscious girl taking his robe of, gently draping it around her and lifted the limp body up. She was light as a feather.

Dressed in trousers and mesh sweater he turned to his siblings.

"Then let's go."

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It all began as a typical day for the loudest ninja in Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto.

He had woken up and eaten breakfast, (checking twice if the milk was okay to drink) and then gone of to his daily training with Kakashi-sensei and Sakura.

Kakashi had been late as usual. This time he had rambled about some old lady getting robbed that he had to help.

The story sounded more plausible then his other ones, but Naruto still wasn't sure if he believed the teacher or not…

They had been doing some light training today, almost not even enough to break a sweat and they had even finished before noon.

He was walking back from the training grounds when suddenly he heard running footsteps behind him and turned around.

"Naruto! Out of the way!"

Kankuro ran past him, almost shoving him of the road, closely followed by Temari and Gaara, who was carrying something on his back.

"Oi, minna! What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't come until later?"

"We need to see the Hokage!" Temari didn't even glance back when she shouted at him.

"Eh? What's wrong?"

Naruto stared at Gaara's disappearing back. Why was he carrying his robe bundled up on his back like that?

"Oi! Gaara! What's going on?!"

The red head didn't answer but Kankuro motioned to Naruto to come along, an offer which the blond wasn't late to pick up on.

"Matte yo!"

Together they reached the Hokage building, rushed up the stairs and barged through the big double doors to Tsunade's office with a bang.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Tsunade stood up from behind the desk and slammed her hands down on top of it, highly irritated over the rude intrusion.

"Help her!"

Kankuro relieved his brother from his burden and layed the girl down on the floor.

Tsunade stared down at the newcomer in front of her. Naruto stared as well.

"Who's that?"

"We found her lying in a river in the Rain country."

Gaara's voice revealed no emotions. Naruto looked up at his friend.

"The Rain country? But that's an entire two day's march from here."

"We know that! That's why the Hokage has to help her!"

Temari glared at Naruto as if he should be able to figure that out himself.

"Calm down. All of you."

Tsunade walked around her desk and kneeled beside the girl, checking her for a pulse and then placed her hands on the hem of Gaara's robe.

"All men, out." She said meaningly.

There was no room for arguing and the three ninjas walked out.

"Temari, I need your help here."

She pulled the robe of and looked down on the girl.

Her body was in a terrible condition. The fact that she was still breathing was unbelievable.

She was skinny to the point of starvation and her long, dark, raven black hair was tangled together in big knots. It took more then a dip in a river to create those.

Her skin was pale and creamy white, even though most of it was covered underneath layers of dirt. Apparently the river's cold water wasn't enough to wash it off.

Temari gasped.

"Look at her hands…"

Tsunade gazed down to were the blonde girl was pointing.

Scraped, blood crusted and dirty with scars and deep cuts spread out all over them and every nail broken off. The elbows, knees and feet were in the same condition with pieces of rubble and sand imbedded in the wounds.

This girl had been crawling, and she had been crawling for a very long time.

The rags she was wearing looked as if they originally started out as a dress or tunic of some kind, but now it was hardly enough to cover her limp body.

Three large scars stretched from her left side, across her ribcage and down to her stomach, to the point right above her navel. Like the marking from a giant claw.

But the thing that caught Tsunade's attention was the girl's face.

"Temari… look at her eyes."

"Oh my god… there the same as Gaara's."

The eyes were rimmed with black. As if the skin had darkened around them, like bruises, but so much worse.

They were the eyes of someone suffering from insomnia.

Tsunade stood up and wrapped the robe around the girl again and lifted her up.

"Temari, open the door for me."

Temari did so and they walked out the hallway.

"Ne, Baa-chan. Is she all right?"

"She's in a very bad condition. I have no idea what she's been through, but she need to go the hospital as soon as possible. The fact that you managed to keep her warm on the way here probably saved her life."

She looked at them.

"Let's go."

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At the hospital the girl was placed in a room and put in bed. Medical ninjas cleaned and dressed her wounds and placed heated blankets around her and then left with a courteous nod towards Tsunade.

"There, now." She turned to the three sand ninjas. "I want you to tell me exactly how and were you found this girl."

Kankuro and Temari started to explain, filling in each other's sentences in the rush to make their side of the story heard while Gaara stayed out of the conversation.

His two relatives talked enough for the three of them.

He was standing in the back of the room leaning against the doorpost with his usual emotionless face, listening to the ramblings of his siblings when a movement from the bed caught his attention.

He glanced in the direction of the bed, but now it was still.

Quietly he leaned of the wall and walked up to the bed and looked down on the girl lying underneath the covers.

She was scowling and he could se the movement of her eyes underneath her eyelids as she started to wake up.

He watched as the eyelids fluttered slightly and slowly opened.

For a moment she stared out into midair, without really seeing anything, then she gasped out loudly and sat straight up from the bed, covering her eyes with her bandaged hands.

Without thinking Gaara reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder in an unconscious attempt to calm her down. As soon as his hand connected with her, she froze. Then seconds later she grabbed the hand, burying her nails deep into his skin, hissing.

Gaara stared at the hand clutching his own and then there was a feeling as if someone had taken a knife and driven it straight through the palm of his hand and after that, all hell broke loose…

Gaara screamed.

The others turned around, startled from the sudden sound and stared at the scene before them.

The girl was sitting up in the bed, covering her face with one of her hands while the other held on firmly to Gaara's.

The Kazekage seemed to be nailed to the spot, unable to move as much as an inch, with eyes that were widened in horror and lips curled up in a soundless growl, staring at something in front of him that the others couldn't see. His breath was just an irregular panting, whistling in his throat. He started shaking and then he screamed again.

Tsunade darted to the bed, collecting chakra to her fingertips and sent of a small flash of lightning that hit the side of the girl's throat with a soft sparkle.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell unconscious back onto the bed, letting go of Gaara who stumbled backwards and hit the wall, sliding down to the floor.

"Gaara!" Temari and Kankuro rushed to their brother side.

"Gaara, what happened? Are you all right?!"

Gaara stared up into the ceiling, his eyes unseeingly and his mouth moving without making a sound.

"What the hell happened?" Naruto looked from Gaara to Tsunade.

"What did she do to him?!" Kankuro shouted, pointing at the bed with an accusing finger.

Tsunade didn't answer. Instead she looked at the girl lying on the bed with a somewhat shocked and questioning expression.

Kankuro suddenly felt a hand clutch around his arm and looked down.

Gaara was looking at him, lips moving in a silent whisper.

"Hih…me…"

"What? One more time, Gaara." He and Temari leaned down in order to catch the breathed out words their brother was trying to elicit.

"Her name…" he whispered,

"Her name…is Chiyume…"

Then everything went black as Gaara lost consciousness.

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_To Be Continued..._

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	3. Screams of Pain

**Chapter 2 – Screams of Pain**

"How is he?"

Temari looked at Tsunade with a worried expression when the Hokage came out of the hospital room Gaara was lying in.

The female sannin sighed and pulled her hand tiredly across her face.

"He's still unconscious, but he's fine."

"Can we see him?"

"If you want to, but as I said, he's still out cold."

Kankuro and Temari went inside the room and left Tsunade and Naruto out in the hallway.

"Baa-chan. What happened in there? What did that weird chick do to him?"

Tsunade looked down on the floor.

"I don't know, Naruto…"

"But he screamed. _Gaara_ screamed!"

"Naruto. I don't know what happened _yet_. But I promise that as soon as Gaara wakes up, I'll get to the bottom of this."

Naruto looked across the hallway to the room where the girl was. Chiyume.

"What about her?"

A gloomy smile flashed over the woman's features.

"The pressure point I hit with my chakra will keep her out for at least three days. Hopefully Gaara will be awake by then."

Naruto felt the muscles around his heart clench.

"Hopefully?"

Tsunade finally looked at him and her face was sad when she spoke.

"All we can do now is wait…"

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Gaara was dreaming.

At least he thought it was a dream.

He realised that he wasn't in his own body. He tried to turn his head, but couldn't. Apparently he wasn't the one in control here.

The body was a girl's body. A very young girl, maybe five or six years old.

He/She was standing on a porch to a house he didn't recognise and next to him were two other people.

He knew it was the girl's parents when the girl in question turned her head and looked at them. He felt warmth spread through his chest when he met the gaze of the girl's mother and the love in the smile she gave him threatened to make his eyes tear.

She was so pretty.

The woman reached out a hand and gently stroked the girl's cheek.

_Chiyume… my little Chiyume…_

Then there was a soft flash of lightning and they were gone.

He was alone.

Everything was on fire. People was screaming and running in every direction.

Smoke burned in his eyes and scorched and clawed inside his lungs.

There were others there to. Men on horses that were chasing the villagers.

He saw one of them, a large man with a sword, hunt down a woman clutching he child tightly to her chest, screaming out for someone to help her. In one mighty swing with the sword he cut of the woman's head and grabbed the child from her lifeless arms and rode of.

The woman's head rolled on the ground and stopped in front of Gaara, staring at him with dark eyes and its mouth open in a silent scream.

Then he felt someone grab hold of the back of his shirt and lift him up in the air and before he even had the chance to scream, everything went black.

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He opened his eyes, adjusting to the dusk light.

He was in a cage. A moving cage that was grinding and bumping when the wheels underneath it rolled over bumps or into hollows in the road.

There were others there with him. Most of them were children, some of them sleeping, other just staring out into nothing in front of them.

He tried to move but remember that this wasn't really his body.

However, the girl moved her head and then he saw that a thick blanket of some kind was hanging on top of the cage, preventing them from seeing what was outside.

Then suddenly the grinding stopped and the cage went still.

Moments later the cloth was removed and Gaara blinked at the sudden flow of light that streamed in at him.

A large man with a rough beard opened the cage door and tore it open.

"Everybody out!"

The others in the cage began crawling out and the girl followed.

"Get a move on!"

The part of him that was Chiyume was scared and he found that it slowly started rubbing of on him.

Something was going to happen.

When they got out Gaara saw that there were other cages to.

They were at some kind of town square and the wagons with the cages on them were all placed in a half circle around a clearing in the squares centre.

Orders were barked out and they all lined up in front of the wagons they had climbed out of.

Soon people began approaching them, eyeing them closely as if they were some kind of merchandise and then it struck him.

_They're slave traders…_

A man walked up to Chiyume and eyed her closely.

_No, not me. Please, don't pick me._

Somehow he wasn't sure if those were his own thoughts or Chiyume's.

The man reached out and grabbed Chiyume's chin and turned it sideways, then let go with a snort.

"I'll give you 3000 for this one."

"You're crazy. She's worth much more then that."

"She's too weak to do any manual labour and she's way too young to be of any other physical use for at least six more years."

Gaara mentally widened his eyes. What the hell did the bastard just say?

"6000, and she's yours." The slave trader offered.

"Tch. 4000. Not a sou more."

The man rustled with his wallet. The slave trader eyed it hungerly but eventually tore his eyes from it and glanced at Chiyume.

"No deal."

The man sighed and pointed to a boy standing next to Chiyume.

"How about that one. He's not as pretty and he looks a lot weaker. I'll give you 4000. It's a bargain."

"Deal."

On the other side of the square came a scream and Chiyume turned her head to look that way.

Gaara saw a woman struggling to get loose from two men that held her by the arms. Another man was just walking away, carrying a child in his arms. The woman freed one of her hands and reached for the girl.

"Mika! No, give her back!"

"Shut up, kono ama!"

One of the men gave her a punch in the stomach and the woman dropped to the ground gasping for air.

Chiyume turned her head away and Gaara clenched his fists mentally, reminding himself that there was nothing he could do.

They stood in front of the cages until late afternoon and then they were ordered back in and the wagons rolled out and the slave traders set camp outside the town, lighting campfires when the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

Chiyume curled up in a corner of the cage and even though Gaara didn't feel the slightest tired he felt all of his energy disappear when Chiyume's eyelids closed and she fell asleep.

They woke up in the middle of the night from the sound of the cage door opening.

Chiyume opened her eyes carefully and Gaara saw a man walk in and grab hold of one of the girls and cover her mouth while he dragged her out and closed the cage behind him.

Then Chiyume fell asleep again.

The next morning the girl was back.

Her face was bruised and she whimpered every time the wagon hit a bump in the road making the cage cringe.

She was crying.

The same thing happened the following three nights, and every morning the girl drifted further and further away, becoming more and more apathetic, not even crying anymore.

The fourth night they woke up from the sound of a scream echoing through the night.

A shriek in pain that ended unnaturally abruptly.

The next morning the girl was gone.

That same night they came for Chiyume.

They woke up when a man roughly pulled her out of the cage and covered her mouth.

"If you scream, you're dead." A hoarse voice hissed in her ear.

They were brought to a tent at the outskirts of the camp where she was forcefully pushed down and pinned to the floor.

He told her over and over that if she as much as yelped he would kill her, and to prove it he showed her a knife he had in his belt.

Chiyume didn't scream, but she fought nonetheless.

She clawed, kicked and bit him wherever she could, struggling to get away, but he was too strong, and he wouldn't let her get away.

A pain Gaara never had thought possible shot up through his body when Chiyume's virgin flesh was torn. He felt blood running down his inner thigh, sticking his backside to the rough texture of the carpet on the floor. His head felt as if it was going to explode with pain and he tried so desperately to get away, but he was trapped, not able to escape the scorching fire clawing its way up his spine or the terrible feeling of his insides being ripped into pieces.

Chiyume didn't scream, but Gaara did.

The pain was unbearable, cutting through every vein in his body, invading his brain like a tidal wave. He couldn't stop screaming, but at the same time the air in his phantom lungs wasn't enough to scream and breathe at the same time. He was passing out, the world growing darker around him, the sounds becoming more and more distant.

That's when he felt it.

The feeling of Chiyume's mind stretching itself, seeping out through the normal boundaries of the human consciousness and on into the mind of the slave trader.

Gaara felt her gathering the last of the strength she had left and then how her head made a light twitch.

He had no idea what she did, but the man suddenly got off and pulled them of the floor.

Gaara could feel the fresh night breeze run cold fingers over their faces when the man dragged Chiyume back to the cage and threw her inside and then left without a word.

The bleeding had stopped but there was a numbing pain between their legs and from organs inside his body that he really didn't have and then Chiyume started to cry, silently not to wake the others.

Shaking, with tears streaming down her face Chiyume fell asleep, dragging Gaara with her into the comforting darkness of a dreamless sleep.

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Chiyume opened her eyes.

Gaara immediately sensed the difference.

Time had passed. They were still in the same cage, but the people around them had changed.

The clothes on Chiyume's body were different and he noticed that the anatomy of the girl had changed as well.

How long was it since they had been taken by the slave traders? Months? Years?

Chiyume shifted her body and the pain shot up again.

So it hadn't stopped.

Gaara felt an anger rise up within him.

If he ever found this guy… There were just some things in this world that you did _not_ do…

The wagon suddenly halted and the thick drapes were removed.

_What is this?_

They were in the middle of now where.

No town, no people, nothing. The sun was still up. Why were they stopping?

He growled when he saw who opened the cage door.

The man glared at Chiyume and then began shouting out the usual orders.

When he turned around Gaara saw that the man had a fresh cut at his left eye. A scar that ran from the corner of his eye down to his chin. He also noticed that he limped.

_Good girl…_

The slaves lined up outside and he noticed that the orders were a lot harsher then they used to be. Apparently this was a very important costumer.

Chiyume glanced up and saw a man talking to the slave trader. He had long silvery hair tied up in a ponytail and he wore big round glasses.

Gaara recognised him right away. Naruto had told him all about what happened during the chuunin exams.

What business did Kabuto have with the slave traders?

The two men started walking down the line of slaves.

"My master is only interested in healthy children."

"Of course, sir. I can assure you that all of our slaves are of the highest quality."

The man sounded scared and his voice was dripping with subservience.

They walked passed them and continued down the row.

"So, Kabuto-sama, how many shall I prepare for you?"

"I will only need one."

"Oh… but… We have plenty."

"Orochimaru-sama is very firm on that point. One child."

Kabuto's voice was smooth but the glance he gave the other man could have cut through stone.

"O-of course, Kabuto-sama…Please, feel free to choose anyone you like."

Kabuto snorted, turned and began walking back to the starting point, looking at the people like a bored tourist would be looking at paintings in a museum.

Then he suddenly stopped and Gaara found himself staring down on the man's feet.

He could feel the man reach out and gently brush his fingers through Chiyume's raven hair.

"You have very beautiful hair, child."

He touched her chin gently and lifted up her head so that she was looking him in the eye. Gaara could feel Chiyume's senses carefully enter Kabuto's mind and how she tensed up when she carefully went through his memories.

_Oh god the people he had killed… So many people oh god…_

This man was evil. His smile and touch may be soft, but his eyes were as black and cold like a stormy night sky.

She did not want to go with him.

_Please don't force me to go with him._

Kabuto smiled.

"This one will do."

The slave dealer looked a bit unhappy with the sound ninjas choice, but the fear of Kabuto kept him from complaining.

Money changed hands and then the slaves were ordered back into the cages and the caravan rolled off, leaving Chiyume behind with the silver haired ninja.

They were walking down a stair, somewhere underground. Gaara could feel the pressure from the mountain around them. Torches flickered in holders on the walls, casting deep shadows over the path they followed, deeper and deeper down.

Then Orochimaru was there.

Kabuto held a firm grip around Chiyume's wrist as they entered the chamber.

A fire burned in the fireplace and the only furniture there was a chair and a table with a single burning candle on it.

"Let's see what you brought me this time, Kabuto."

Orochimaru's voice sounded amused, tauntingly even. Apparently, he thought very little of his underling's bargain.

He reached out his hand to touch her and Chiyume instinctively flinched.

Gaara could almost hear the panicked thoughts screaming in her head.

This man was not human; he was even worse then the man with the glasses. She didn't want to touch him, she didn't want to go near him.

She tried to wiggle herself out of Kabuto's grip, but the man only tightened his hand around her wrist, making her wince in pain.

"Stay still." He ordered.

But she couldn't. If that man touched her she would go insane.

When Orochimaru's pale hand was less then an inch away from her face she did the only thing she could think of.

She bit him.

The snakelike man pulled his hand back with a sharp hiss with blood dripping down from his fingertips and then Kabuto threw her down onto the floor.

"That's quite a wild cat you found there, Kabuto…" he said smirking down on the bite wound on his hand.

"Sumimasen, Orochimaru-sama."

He glared down on Chiyume, who glared back, though Gaara could feel the fear flowing through her body.

"Are you sure you can handle this one?" Orochimaru asked mockingly.

"Tch. This one's just a kitten. She will be no problem."

An evil grin spread across Orochimaru's face.

"Good."

There was the feeling of time passing again, but this time it wasn't a matter of weeks or months, but years.

She was thrown in a dungeon of some sort. There were no lights and there were sounds of other things moving in the darkness and sometimes there were _eyes_, glowing, yellow and red _eyes_, and they were _staring_ at her and she was so scared.

She was lying in a tank, _the_ tank and on the other side of the stained glass was Kabuto and he reached out and pulled a lever and there was pain coursing through their body and Gaara screamed.

More time passed. She was hungry and the gave her raw meat but she didn't eat it, but she was getting so hungry and she promised herself that this would be the only time, just this once and then never again, just this once because she was so hungry…

They stuck her with needles, injecting her with foul smelling liquid that burned and they cut her open and healed her up and then cut her again and the pain was everywhere and it was so dark and it was so cold.

They were in the pit. There were doors around the, and Gaara could hear the scraping of claws on the other side and something that sounded oh so much of human voices and then the gates opened and something _happened_ and the next thing she remembered was that there were bodies around her, inhuman bodies with human faces or the other way around and she was bleeding and it hurt so bad.

Then someone talked to her. Someone brought light to her but she couldn't see his face, but it was a he and he told her, yes he told her what to do and how to do it, where to go and when Kabuto came she could feel how close she was to turning again but fought it down and instead she ran. She ran, ran and crawled and it was so dark and wet and then there was no ground anymore and she fell and he knew she would die, she could feel it coming and then she hit the water and it was so cold and she sank, she was dying now and everything went quiet.

Then Gaara saw a short glimpse of his own face looking down on him from above and then there was this terrible feeling of going blind, pain piercing his eyes like needles and he covered his eyes against the white light and then he screamed.

But it was the sound of his own voice screaming.

_Gaara! Gaara wake up!_

Who was that? He knew that voice…

_Gaara, you're dreaming! Wake up!_

He shot his eyes open and sat up gasping for air. Kankuro held him by the shoulders, supporting him, trying to calm him down.

"It was just a dream, everything's all right."

Gaara shook his head fiercely and shoved Kankuro away, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed.

He had to tell Tsunade.

His legs didn't have the strength to keep him up and he would have fallen if his brother hadn't caught him.

"Gaara, calm down. You had a nightmare, it's over now."

"No…"

The door swung open and Naruto rushed in closely followed by Temari.

"Kankuro, is everything okay? We heard a scream and…"

Gaara tried to get up again, but this time Kankuro held him down.

"Let go!" he growled.

"It was just a dream! You have to calm down, please. It was just a nightmare, it happens to everybody."

"_It was not a bloody nightmare_!"

Gaara's scream caught Kankuro off guard and the red haired boy tore himself out of the puppeteers grip and stumbled forward and hit the wall, leaning against it for support.

_The memories, oh sweet god, the memories…_

With a strained sob, the Kazekage collapsed down onto the floor, wrapping his arms around his body and started rocking back and forth, hiding his head against his knees.

Pain from body parts and organs he didn't have shot up through his body and he clenched his teeth shut, trying hard not to scream.

The others stood frozen, chocked over the sudden vulnerable sight before them.

Gaara never screamed or shouted at anyone. Gaara never cried.

Gaara never showed emotions what so ever and still now he was probably the closest anyone could ever come to manifest pure and utter pain and despair.

The current Kazekage clawed at his own back, whimpering out in pain none of the others could possibly comprehend.

Temari cautiously walked up to her little brother and placed a hand on his trembling shoulder.

He twitched from the touch and cried out silently into his own lap.

"Gaara… what's wrong?" she asked softly.

The way Gaara was behaving scared her and she just wanted it to stop.

"Gaara…"

Kankuro pulled her hand away.

"Leave him be, Temari, he's in to much of a shock to be able to…"

"I-I saw it…"

Kankuro and Temari looked at each other.

"Saw what, Gaara?"

Another whimper escaped Gaara's lips.

"Everything… I…I s-saw e-everything…"

"What did you see? Gaara, you have to tell us."

The rocking slowly subsided and a tremble ran through the lane body.

After what felt like an eternity Gaara raised his head.

He had his eyes shut tight, as if he was afraid to open them ever again.

"Her memories…"

Then tears started rolling down his cheeks and he leaned back against the wall and cried like a child.

* * *

I feel so sorry for doing this to Gaara, but it wont make a good story otherwise...

Hope you'd like to send me a reveiw.

I haven't got that many for this story and it would be so fun to know what you think about it...

Update comming soon!

* * *


	4. Friend or Foe?

**  
Chapter 3 – Friend or Foe?**

Naruto looked at Gaara with a sceptical expression.

"So… you're saying that she's been some kind of guinea pig for Orochimaru?"

They were in the Hokage's office. Gaara, again dressed in his robe was standing in front of one of the big windows, looking out over the village.

It had taken the three of them almost two hours to calm the red haired boy down enough to make him explain what the hell he was talking about.

The words had come out reluctantly between gasps of air and silent sobs and at certain points he had stopped and curled up again and then he hadn't been able to continue for at least ten minutes.

Then he had started talking about Orochimaru and that's when they decided that it was time to get Tsunade.

Getting Gaara to pull himself together enough to leave the hospital, or even get up from the floor, had proven to be a difficult procedure, but eventually they had reached the Hokage monument and even been able to walk up the stairs without having to support him.

Now, he had just finished the story from the beginning, weighing each and every word in his mind before he said them, his eye's not leaving the rooftops of Konoha for a single moment since he started. A hovering silence lowered itself over the room as the last word died out and sank into the mind of the other three.

Of course, Naruto had been the first to speak, not realty sure what he should think about it all…

"It's hard to tell." Gaara's voice was hoarse and tired as he spoke. "Her memories are… confusing."

"But they did something to her right?" the blond enquired.

"It felt like…" he stopped.

"Like what?"

Gaara glanced back over his shoulder at the boy but turned back to the window again, closing his eyes.

"Like when Shukaku took over, but at the same time not. It wasn't someone else… just… another part of her."

Tsunade folded her hands on the desk.

"So she's dangerous?"

"No!"

Tsunade sighed.

"Gaara, I have no idea of what she did to you, but the fact remains that you were knocked unconscious for two days. Have you even considered that it could have been a genjutsu? Or maybe just a dream?"

"It was real."

"But she attacked you!" Temari raised her voice and stood up from her chair. "She attacked you and… she _hurt_ you! How can you say that she's not dangerous?"

"It wasn't her fault!"

Gaara turned around and glared at his older sister.

"Gaara, calm down. I'm sure that Temari didn't mean it like that." Tsunade gave Temari a harsh look and Temari sat down again.

"She was scared…" Gaara mumbled. "She couldn't see…"

Tsunade sighed again.

"Gaara, please. I know that you're upset, but you have to try and see this from our point of view. No matter how we turn this she did something that made you black out completely. You can't blame your family for being worried about you."

The word 'family' seemed to make the red head relax a little. He hadn't really thought about that way.

"So… what are we going to do about the girl?" Kankuro looked at Tsunade.

"Chiyume." Gaara corrected absentmindedly.

"Yeah, Chiyume…For now she's still asleep, but when she wakes up there might be some problems."

"I will have a special ANBU team stationed around her. When she wakes up, _if_ she should try to run away or anything else, they will take care of it. I will inform them about this as well to make sure that Gaara's accident doesn't repeat itself."

"She didn't mean it."

"I though we went over this already, Gaara."

"She panicked."

"If she meant to do it or not doesn't matter. Until she wakes up and we can see for ourselves she will be considered an enemy, and that's final."

"You don't trust my word?"

"It's not your word. It's hers."

"I know what I saw."

"You saw what she wanted you see."

"She didn't even know what she was doing!"

"Gaara, I will not hear another word about this! This conversation is over."

"No its not!"

"Gaara…"

"I'm the Kazekage!"

Tsunade stopped and stared at him. Gaara clenched his teeth shut and glared down at the floor.

"I'm the Kazekage. You have no right to tell me what to do."

There was a deep silence.

Gaara and Tsunade were staring at each other from across the room, while Temari and Kankuro were trying to decide if they were going to calm the two of them down, or run for it.

Then Naruto stepped in.

"Gaara's right."

Tsunade turned her glare towards him, but he faced it head on.

"If what Gaara says is true, and I think it is, then she needs our help. If we start things of with treating her like some kind of monster, then the risk is that she might actually become one."

He looked at Gaara. The Kazekage seemed a bit chocked from the sudden support, but he didn't say anything.

Naruto took a deep breath.

"We can't put guards in her room. If she wakes up and immediately gets a kunai pressed against her throat she might… well, do whatever that thing she does is called."

"Curtains."

The three of them looked at Gaara.

"What?"

"Curtains. She's been living underground her entire life. The room needs to be dark when she wakes up or she'll panic again."

"You don't know that." Tsunade pointed out.

"She did the last time."

"Fine. But we still can't leave her unguarded."

"She won't be."

Tsunade raised a brow at the sand ninja.

"If there are no guards, I would call it unguarded."

"I'll watch her."

"Alone?"

Gaara glanced back at his sister.

"I don't need sleep."

"I'll help you." Naruto placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "You shouldn't be there alone when she wakes up."

The Hokage glared at both of them, but eventually gave in.

"Fine. Do whatever you like. But I _will_ post ANBU guards in the hospital. If she turns hostile, at least you'll have some backup."

"Thank you ba-chan!"

"Whatever. Now get out of here, all of you."

Naruto closed the door, silently for once, behind them as they left.

He turned around and saw Gaara standing in front of him.

"Thank you." The words sounded a bit insecure, as if he wasn't sure of how to say them properly.

Naruto smiled.

"It was nothing. You seemed as if you could use some help in there."

Gaara raised a brow.

"Really?"

"Well… I've known Tsunade longer then you. I know how to handle her."

Naruto seemed very proud about that fact, but Gaara suspected that the only reason Tsunade had given in was that she just didn't have the time or energy to argue with both of them at the same time. But he didn't say anything.

They walked out of the office building.

"Gaara…?"

Gaara turned his head towards the blonde who was looking up at the blue sky above them with a worried face.

"About Chiyume…"

"What about her?"

"What do we do if she… I mean, Tsunade will never let her stay if she…"

He trailed of. He didn't want to think about that. It would just be too unfair.

Gaara seemed to be of the same opinion and they kept walking in silence.

-------------------

"I assume that this will work better this time?."  
"O-of course Kabuto-sama. I have done a throughout research since last time."

"I hope so, for your sake…"

Gaara opened his eyes slowly. At first he couldn't make out anything through the mist that covered his eyes. He blinked and tried to focus but groaned when he felt a sharp pain flash through his head.

Were was he?

He tried to move but both of his arms and legs were tied down.

"Kabuto-sama. It's awake."

It? Were they talking about him?

Slowly the surroundings started to come into focus and he found himself staring up at a stone ceiling.

He tried to move his head to look around, but it was tied down as well.

Something cold was pressing down against his chest, but since he couldn't move his head he had no way to see what it was.

Then someone leaned over him and a sharp hiss broke through his lips.

No, not his lips. Hers.

Chiyume growled at Kabuto.

"There Kitten. Be a good girl now and this will be over quickly." He smirked evilly and held up a syringe. A green, almost glowing liquid was floating inside it.

"This is going to hurt."

He nodded towards someone in the back and then he stuck the needle in her arm.

A burning feeling began spreading itself through the tied down limb, getting warmer and more painful for every second until it felt like the entire arm was on fire.

Chiyume's growl turned into a whimper and then to howls of pain. Gaara screamed inside.

His boy was on fire and he could feel Chiyume's and his muscles start to cramp together as one, their heartbeats flickering irregularly in their chests.

"Kabuto-sama…" the man in the background sounded worried but Kabuto ignored him, his eyes were locked on Chiyume.

Her screams grew more desperate, like an animal's and Gaara could feel the other part of her beginning to move. The pulse was racing through her body in an insane rate as the thing inside struggled to break free. Panic started to grab hold of Gaara. It had to stop or they were going to die. His heart was about to explode and his muscles felt ready to break.

"Kabuto-sama, the antidote!"

"Not yet."

"We're loosing her!"

Suddenly the leather strap that held down Chiyume's right arm snapped and she threw it out against Kabuto and Gaara could see what was happening.

Her fingernails had turned into long, razor sharp claws and they were still growing.

"Kabuto!"

Kabuto growled but grabbed a second syringe from a table next to him, dodged Chiyume's attack and roughly stabbed it into her chest.

A soothing feeling travelled from the spot and their heartbeats slowed down.

Hazily Gaara saw the claws retract themselves and turn into ordinary nails again. The fire went away, and his sight went blurry.

He saw Kabuto turn around and glare at someone.

"We will discuss this later." He hissed dangerously.

Then he walked away and Gaara fell back into the soothing darkness.

--------------------

He woke up only seconds after, gaping out loudly, ready to fight. Then he remembered were he was.

They had covered up the windows with dark drapes, preventing as much as possible of the sunlight to get in. Although now it was night and the only thing shining outside was the moon.

Gaara's muscles relaxed and he leaned back into the chair. He could hear Naruto snore next to him in the other chair.

Naruto was supposed to be the one on watch now but apparently he got bored with it and fell asleep.

Gaara looked over to the bed. The colour of Chiyume's black hair stood out from the white pillow and he could hear her steady breathing from across the room.

He got up and walked over to the window, pulling the drapes aside so that the light from the moon could stream in.

He looked up at the round orb. It was full. Normally Shukaku would be terrorising him at this point, fighting to make him loose control and then take over.

That was gone now.

He reminded himself that if he ever met an Akatsuki member ever again he would be sure to thank him properly before he killed him.

He pulled the drapes together and went back to his chair.

He would let Naruto sleep for now. The blonde needed it more then him anyway.

--------------------

At the same time, many miles from Konoha, there was a river flowing peacefully in the moonlight, a stream made of floating silver, calm and tranquil.

A deer was drinking from it by the riverside, but suddenly it raised its head and clipped with a set of ears and darted away into the forest.

A black cloaked figure emerged at the spot the deer had been only seconds ago.

It kneeled down and picked up a piece of ragged cloth that was lodged between the rocks at the brink. The figure brought it to the point were its face assumingly was located and smelled the wet fabric. Then it made a small whistling sound and immediately four other dark silhouettes appeared at its side and then darted away in between the trees, following an invisible trail or scent leading towards the borders of the Fire country.


	5. Trust Me

**Chapter 4 – Trust Me**

Four days after that, Chiyume woke up.

Naruto was sitting on the floor by the window, peeking out through the curtains at the setting sun, when Chiyume's breathing suddenly changed.

There was an interruption in the pattern and then the pauses between inhaling and exhaling became longer.

He turned around towards the bed and saw a pair of green eyes staring back at him.

Naruto froze, staring at the girl who had not moved yet. She just kept looking at him, still lying underneath the bed covers.

He slowly got up from the floor and started moving with his back against the wall, making sure to keep eye contact. He didn't dare try to speak with her, afraid to break the silence that right now seemed to be only thing that held the entire situation together.

He reached the chair were Gaara was sitting, assumingly asleep, and gave him a light nudge. Gaara's eyes shot up immediately.

He looked at Naruto who gestured with his eyes against the bed. Chiyume's eyes widened when Gaara turned towards her and her body tensed, but she didn't move.

"Go get Tsunade," he said in a low voice.

"I can't leave you here alone."

"It's fine." Gaara didn't even look at him.

Naruto began moving again and eventually reached the door and opened it slowly, just enough to peer his head outside.

"Tell Tsunade to come her as fast as she can. Tell her to be quiet."

The ANBU outside nodded and in the next moment he was gone.

Naruto closed the door and faced Gaara again.

"I'm staying." He stated resolutely.

Gaara nodded but still kept his eyes on Chiyume.

The room was quiet. It seemed as if the world outside the four walls had gone mute.

Chiyume's eyes flickered between Gaara and Naruto, shining with suspicion and fear.

"Chiyume."

The girl stiffened when Gaara spoke her name.

"That's your name isn't it?"

He slowly got up from the chair.

Naruto could see the thoughts in the girl's head reflect in her features when the Kazekage began moving towards her.

_She's so scared._

"Gaara, wait." Gaara stopped and looked at him. Naruto turned towards Chiyume and smiled.

"It's okay. We're not going to hurt you."

He looked at Gaara.

"Does she understand what we're saying?" he whispered.

Again, Gaara nodded.

"I'm Naruto." The blonde smiled again and placed a hand on his chest and the other on Gaara's shoulder.

"This is my friend Gaara. We're here to help you."

Then the door opened and Tsunade walked in, closely followed by Sakura.

Chiyume immediately crawled up against the headboard of the bed and hissed at her.

Tsunade froze.

"Looks like she remembers you."

The Hokage glared at the blonde.

"Has she spoken?"

Gaara shook his head solemnly.

Tsunade turned towards the girl crouching on the bed.

"My name is Tsunade."

Chiyume growled at her.

She sounded like an angry cat.

"We're here to help you. You were found lying in a river. We saved you."

Still no response.

"Do you understand me? Does she understand me?"

She turned to Gaara and threw her arms up in the air.

On the other side of the room Chiyume flinched at the sudden movement. Gaara glanced at the girl and then back to Tsunade.

"She understands you. She just doesn't trust you."

"Wonderful…" Tsunade sighed sarcastically.

"Give her some food." Naruto suggested.

"Food?" Sakura hinged a brow sceptically.

"Yeah… I mean. If we give her something to eat, maybe she'll understand that we're not going to hurt her. It's not like you usually feed someone and then kill them, right?"

Tsunade looked at Naruto and then at Chiyume.

"We'll I guess it's worth a try… Sakura."

"Hai?"

"Go see if you can find something for her to eat. Make it light; her stomach isn't in condition to digest properly yet."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

It didn't take long until Sakura returned, carrying a tray with a small bowl of rice and some soup on it.

Naruto sniffed the air when she entered the room.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, can't I have a taste of that?"

She pulled the food away.

"Naruto! This is for the girl!"

"Chiyume…" came Gaara's voice.

"Yes, Chiyume."

She glared at the blonde and then walked up to the bed, slowly, almost holding the food out in front of her like some kind of steaming shield.

Chiyume darted down from the bed, keeping the piece of furniture between herself and Sakura and hissed again.

"It's okay. I brought this for you."

She put the tray down on the bed and backed away.

Chiyume glared suspiciously at her and then her eyes drifted to the steaming food, but she made no attempt to touch it.

"Maybe she's not hungry?" Naruto tried.

"She's been here for almost a week without food, stupid." Sakura snarled. "Besides, we have no idea of when she ate before Kankuro found her."

"She doesn't trust us."

Gaara pushed passed her and walked up to the bed.

Chiyume cowered when he came close, but she didn't growl at him.

Slowly he reached out and grabbed the chopsticks from the tray and picked up a piece of the rice. He held it up and then put it into his mouth, chewing it slowly, demonstrating, and then he swallowed. He took the spoon and repeated the procedure with the soup and then he offered her the tableware and waited.

She didn't take it, but she reached over and snatched the bowl of rice, hurriedly running of with it to a corner of the room where she started shovelling the food into her mouth, using only her hands.

"Okay, maybe I was wrong…"

They stared at the girl, who momentarily seemed to have forgotten about their presence as she brought handful after handful of rice to her mouth, not caring if it burned her or not.

"Hey, Gaara…" Naruto tore his eyes of the girl as she snatched and began pouring the soup directly into her mouth without even looking at the spoon.

"How did you know she wouldn't eat unless you did?"

Gaara gave him a surprised look.

"If you woke up among strangers, would you eat just anything they put in front of you without knowing if it's safe?"

"Well… I…" Gaara stared at him and Naruto blushed.

"I never really though about it that way…" he ended lamely.

"Shocking…" Sakura mumbled.

Gaara gave the blonde a final look and then walked around the bed and kneeled down on the floor about six feet away from Chiyume.

She stopped eating and gazed at him from over the brim of the bowl.

"Do you remember me?" he asked.

She didn't move.

"Do you know who I am?"

Her eyes flickered towards the others and then she nodded.

Good. At least now she was willing to communicate with them.

"Do you remember what happened? When you woke up?"

She scowled at him, as if wondering what he was talking about, but then her eyes widened and she dropped the bowl. It slammed onto the floor and the remaining soup flooded over the floorboards. With a whimpered cry she crawled up and hid her face in her hands, the same way he himself had done only days before.

"It's okay."

Gaara reached out a hand towards her but she only curled up more and began shaking.

A sudden image flashed through his mind. A hand swiftly coming down and a burning feeling on his face.

He pulled the hand back.

"I'm… I'm not going to hit you."

She peeked out between her hands, still shaking.

"No one's going to hurt you." He stretched the hand out again, this time with his palm facing the ceiling.

"I promise."

He edged closer, still offering her his hand.

She removed her own hands from her face and looked at the hand. Then slowly, almost shyly, she reached out and touched it.

It wasn't much, just a soft brush against his fingertips.

There was a tingling sensation on his skin and a shiver went through Chiyume's skinny body and she closed her eyes.

Suddenly it felt as if the room was spinning. Hundreds of images played before his eyes. Himself as a child, his fathers face looking down on him with a disgusted expression, people running away from him, Temari and Kankuro hiding behind Yashamaru's back, his uncle telling him the truth about his birth, the Chuuninexam, Shukaku's appearance and Naruto fighting him, Matsuri being kidnapped, his struggle to become the Kazekage, the Akatsuki…

It was all over in a couple of seconds. Chiyume's head did a small throw to the left and then she sighed and opened her eyes.

All suspicion was gone when she looked at him, and then she leaned forward and placed her head in Gaara's hand, rubbing it against her cheek.

A little embarrassed by the sudden sign of affection, Gaara raised his other hand and gave her a small pat on the head.

"What on earth did you do?"

Tsunade looked down at the now calm girl molesting the red head's hand.

"Nothing. She did."

Tsunade began moving around the bed as well, but Chiyume shot her a glare and growled at her.

Tsunade stopped.

"She still doesn't seem to like you, though."

Tsunade's eye twitched.

Naruto fled.

----------------------

They soon learned that Chiyume had a very… _unique _personality.

First of all, touching was a big no-no.

She could sometimes extend herself to touch someone else, but if you as much as raised a hand in her direction she would flinch and jump away.

Every emotion was displayed in her eyes and face. A life in complete darkness had resulted in her not knowing how to control her features to hide her feelings. If she was scared she looked terrified, if she was angry she looked pissed, if she was bored her eyes would drift away and loose themselves in the distance. At that point you might as well stop talking and leave.

But she never smiled.

No matter how many feelings she displayed during a day, she would never smile.

Naruto tried to tell her jokes, but they were all greeted with a blank or dumbfounded expression and he soon gave up.

Most of the time she spent just sitting on the bed, staring at them.

She had an uncomfortable habit of staring.

Following every single movement, observing every expression, listening to every word

She didn't speak, just… sat there.

A question would be responded with a look, a tilted head, a change in posture.

And they couldn't really accuse her of being _rude_, but she had this way of looking at you sometimes that just made you feel _incredibly_ stupid.

"Gaara, she's doing it again…"

Gaara looked up from the document he was reading and gazed at the blonde who were lying on his back on the floor.

Chiyume was lying on the bed with her head hovering above the blonde's, staring at him.

That was another thing that Gaara couldn't put his finger on.

To everyone else she would display at least some kind of insecurity or cautiousness, but when it came to Naruto and himself, she acted as if she had known them for years.

He had a suspicion that it had something to do with the memories she had evoked from his mind earlier.

He trusted Naruto with all of his heart, and he had come to the conclusion that Chiyume must have felt that and therefore treated him differently from the others Gaara didn't know that much about.

However, that fact also seemed to annoy the blond shinobi to no end.

Gaara sighed and raised the document again.

"What does she want?" He asked.

"I don't know!"

"Then ask her."

"Hn. She won't answer anyway."

Naruto shifted to move his body away from the staring girl, but she just jumped of the bed and followed him.

"Gaara!"

"She won't listen to me anymore then you."

"Liar! You know she does. Hey, quit it!"

Gaara lowered the scroll again. Chiyume had nestled two of her fingers underneath the collar of Naruto's jacket and was pulling at the necklace he had gotten from Tsunade.

"Stop that! It's mine!" He janked the necklace away from her and sat up.

Chiyume jumped back up on the bed and gave him a snort and the look that told him not to be so touchy.

Then she continued to stare at Gaara instead.

The girl had the most peculiar eyes Gaara had ever seen.

They weren't like the Hyuuga-clans' white, pupil-less eyes or his own, but peculiar none the less.

They were green, like the leaves of the trees surrounding Konoha, and they had small sprinkles of gold spread around the centre. And when she looked at you it felt as if she was looking straight into your head, listening to and watching every single one of your thoughts.

Still, Gaara didn't feel bothered by having her watching him.

Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't stand it.

Gaara kept reading but soon he felt something touch his knee. He looked down and came face to face with Chiyume, who was staring intensively at his forehead.

"What is it?"

She raised a hand and touched the Kanji symbol on his forehead, following the outline with her fingertips, tilting her head to the side with a questioning look.

Gaara gently pushed her hand away, but she put it back.

"It's nothing special."

Then she growled at him. As if telling him not to be so stupid.

There was that tingling feeling again and he could almost imagine how her senses travelled through the pores of his skin and into his mind.

She scowled and then the memories of his uncle flooded his mind.

His laughter, his smile, the way he would hold Gaara and tell him he loved him. How he laid in a pool of his own blood, telling him that everything had been a lie, that he hated him, that his father hated him, that his mother had used her last dying breaths to curse his entire existence. The exploding tags, the sand flowing up to shield him, the tears, the sand, the pain.

She opened her eyes and slowly removed her hand. She looked at him with eyes that were hazed over with tears.

"It's all right. It doesn't hurt anymore." He could feel his voice tremble and tried to smile, but didn't succeed.

She looked at him again and then with a silent sigh she went back to the bed, curled up by the pillow and fell asleep.

Naruto looked at her.

"She sure sleeps a lot, doesn't she?"

"Yeah…"

Gaara put the scroll aside and got up from the chair, strapping his gourd back on.

"I'm going out for a while," he stated and before Naruto could say anything else he walked out the door.

-------------------

He woke up that same night, biting of a scream right before it escaped his throat.

Panting and soaked in sweat he threw of the damp sheets and got up.

Another nightmare.

Another memory.

He got dressed and went outside.

He had been given a room at the hospital opposite to Chiyume's.

The hallway outside was empty; although Gaara knew that the ANBUs set to guard Chiyume weren't far away.

The lights were dimmed down to a soft shimmer that reflected itself in the sterile, tiled floor, giving it the impression of glowing.

He silently walked across the corridor and stood outside the door to Chiyume's room.

He pushed the door open and glanced in.

The room was dark, but he still saw that something was terribly wrong.

The bed was empty.

Chiyume was gone.

He swung the door open and was just about to rush inside when he heard a voice behind him.

"She's still there."

He turned and saw Sakura standing behind him, holding a file filled with papers in her hand.

"What?"

He looked back into the room. What was she talking about? The bed was empty!

Sakura smiled, but it was a sad smile and she quietly walked into the room and gestured to Gaara to follow.

They walked up to the bed and stopped and then she dropped her eyes to the floor.

Gaara gave her a questioning look and then kneeled down and looked under the bed.

Chiyume was lying, asleep with her arms wrapped around her body, on the floor underneath it.

"She sleeps there every night."

She bent down as well and looked at the girl.

"I know. I panicked the firs time I checked up on her during the night to."

She pulled out an empty bowl from underneath the bed and stood up again.

"Dinner," she said explaining. "I guess she just feels safer under there."

Gaara stood up and followed her outside in silence and closed the door quietly behind them.

"You should get back to sleep. You look like you could use it."

She gave him a quick smile and then continued down the hallway.

Gaara looked as she turned a corner and then glanced at the closed door behind him.

Maybe sleep wasn't such a bad idea. 


	6. Transformations

**Chapter 5 - Transformations**

Chiyume's first encounter with a mirror ended in, as Shikamaru would have put it; a very troublesome way. Sakura should have been able to foreseen it.

The second Chiyume spotted her own reflection she did the one thing an orphan, violent experiment that'd never seen a mirror before would do.

She smashed the mirror into a million pieces and ran out of the dressing room.

It had all started when Tsunade walked in that same morning to give Chiyume a quick check up.

Sakura, Gaara and Naruto were there as usual and Chiyume had just finished her lunch. With her hands. As usual.

The second Tsunade entered the room she stopped and sniffed the air. Then she looked at the three of them and basically ordered them to take a bath.

That had left Sakura with the somewhat difficult task of teaching Chiyume how to do so, which led to why Chiyume had been in the dressing room in the first place.

Tsunade had made sure that they could use the hospital's private bathhouse without having to worry about being disturbed; Chiyume could handle being alone with Sakura, but putting her with complete strangers would simply be a very bad idea.

So, after Chiyume had walked in and come face to face with the reflection of her self, (which wasn't very flattering at the moment, by the way) smashed it and Sakura had cleaned up the mess and basically dragged the girl back into the dressing room, she began with the procedure of making Chiyume undress herself.

Luckily she didn't need any help and was quickly stripped of the hospital pyjamas.

Now the only thing Sakura had to do was to get her into the water.

The only thing she had to do...

Chiyume didn't like the water. Not one bit.

When they walked into the hot springs and she spotted the water she froze dead on the spot and wouldn't budge, starring at the water with eyes widened in panic.

Sakura reminded herself of the fact that the poor girl after all had been close to drowning and decided to take things one step at a time.

"It's okay, it's just water." Sakura gave her an encouraging smile and went ahead in.

When her feet disappeared into the water Chiyume took a step back.

"Wait, it's not dangerous, see?" She sat down into the water and then stood up again.

Chiyume didn't move.

"C'mon, you have to bathe. You stink."

It was true. Gaara and Naruto had probably gotten used to it, but Sakura who came and went every day had to brace herself every time she entered the girl's room.

She realised that she would never get Chiyume in the water through persuasion.

She began moving back towards the edge of the pool, but on the way she splashed up some of the water that landed at Chiyume's feet.

The raven girl hissed and jerked back, crouching up on the floor.

"Oh, stop it!"

What was she supposed to do now? She would obviously not enter the water voluntarily.

Forcing her would only do more damage then good.

"Guess there's no other option…"

She did a couple of hand seals under the water and looked Chiyume in the eyes.

"Sleep." She commanded.

Chiyume's eyelids dropped and she collapsed onto the floor.

Sakura got up and dragged her body down into the steaming water, resting her head on her shoulder to keep it above the surface.

The time she had spent in the river and the quick cleaning she had received when she first arrived had washed away most of the dirt on her body, but she was still far from clean.

Sakura sighed. This would take a while.

She grabbed a washcloth that she had brought with her and wet it in the water and began cleaning the face.

At first nothing seemed to happen, but when he dirt began dissolving from the moist it started coming of.

She soon realised that she would need a whole lot of washing cloths.

Chiyume was indeed pale. She had a soft, milky skin tone that made Sakura's own skin look tanned.

Her black hair stood out so much from it that she almost looked like one of those porcelain geisha dolls Sakura had when she was a little girl.

The girl had gained a lot of weight during the one and a half week she had been at the hospital, but she was still far to skinny then what was healthy.

As she cleaned the girl of, Sakura couldn't help but to feel a terrible anger rise against the people who had done this to her.

Kabuto.

_Orochimaru…_

She had heard most of the story from Naruto, though the idiot had been talking so fast and discontinuous that she had barely been able to follow him.

She finished cleaning Chiyume, grabbed a comb and did an attempt to untangle the knots in the raven's black hair.

She immediately snapped two of the combs teeth.

Realising that no there were no comb or brush in the world that would be able to fix this mess she pulled Chiyume out of the water and placed her in a wooden resting chair and covered her with a towel. Then she went back into the dressing room and grabbed a kunai and a pair of scissors from her medical bag.

"Hope she didn't plan on wearing it long…"

When Naruto walked into Chiyume's room later that afternoon he first thought he had gone through the wrong door.

Then the girl turned around and he saw those green eyes glance at him.

"What do you think?"

Sakura stood up from the chair and walked up to the girl.

Naruto stared at the girl in front of him. Was this really the same person he had spent the last week with?

It sure as hell didn't look like it.

The biggest change was the hair of course.

Before, it had been tangled and knotted, strands sticking out in basically every imaginable direction and still been long enough to reach down past her elbows.

Now it ended just beneath her shoulders. It had been cut up in a messy, yet controlled style and she had gotten a fringe.

She was no longer wearing the hospital gown. Instead she was dressed in a pair of loose, black trousers and a dark red sweater, which was obviously borrowed from Sakura, with the Haruno clan mark-circle on its back.

She looked so different that he just had to ask.

"Chiyume?"

She looked at him again and he could see the snort coming before he even heard it

_Of course it is._

"She looks great doesn't she?" Sakura's eyes glistened. "I couldn't comb her hair out, so I cut it instead. Didn't it come out great?"

Before Naruto could answer the question the door opened again and Gaara walked in.

His reaction on the sight before him were the same as Naruto's had been and he stopped in the middle of the doorway.

It was quite a sight and Naruto made sure he took it all in. After all, a surprised Gaara wasn't something you saw every day.

"You cut her hair." He said. The tone in his voice was the same as if he had told them that it was raining outside.

"Yeah, doesn't it look wonderful?"

Gaara just stared. Who knew _that _had been hiding underneath all the dirt and hair that they had pulled out of the river?

The look Chiyume gave him back revealed nothing of what she thought, although, for a split second he thought he saw a smile play in the corner of her mouth.

----------------------

They were in the pit again. The scene was the same as last time.

Chiyume was standing in the centre and around them were the remaining pieces of half human creatures, spread all over the ground.

She was breathing heavily and Gaara could feel the irregular heartbeat race away in her chest.

Their chest.

He felt his own heartbeat join the pace of Chiyume's and his mind began to cloud over.

Chiyume's legs buckled under her and she collapsed on the ground, to exhausted to be able to brace her self from the fall.

Her hand landed in something slippery and warm and Gaara hazily realized that it was insides that had been ripped out from one of the creatures beside them.

They looked up and saw the beheaded body of a mutant, half human, half reptile. Blood was still squirting out from the ragged neck, collecting in a large puddle beneath the body.

The base of the neck looked as if it had been chewed off by some huge animal.

Distantly Chiyume realised that her entire body was covered in blood and managed to roll over on her stomach just before her insides decided to empty themselves and she threw up.

It wasn't much of a vomit since her stomach was empty, but the sight of the yellow-white liquid trailing down from her mouth and onto the ground was enough to make her do it again.

The lights dimmed and then Gaara felt something grab her by the neck and lift them up.

She was being carried. Chiyume could hear the familiar growls from the other jikken and came to the conclusion that she was going back to the cage.

She could smell Kabuto's body close to her face as he was carrying her, but she didn't have the strength to even open her eyes, much less to try and fight free from his grip.

Then she felt the cold floor against her back when he put her down and then she heard the cell door close when Kabuto walked out.

"She wont be able to take much more, Kabuto-sama." A man's voice said low.

"I decide when she can't take any more. What did the results show?"

"I-it seems as if the object only goes into its full form when it gets directly cornered or injured. The study of the turning process also indicates that the object probably isn't able to control when or how fast the transformation takes place.

"Then make her able to control it."

"But, Kabuto-sama, that kind of research… It could take years!"

"So. Do you have business elsewhere?"

"N-no.. I.. Of course not. It's just… We have no idea if that kind of result is even possible to achieve. There's no guarantee that her body can take it. We might end up killing her if we push it too far for too long."

There was a moment of silence. Then Kabuto spoke again.

"If se dies, it only proves that she was too weak to begin with. Then she wouldn't have been any use to us anyway."

----------------------

Gaara got out of bed and pulled his robe on.

He walked out into the dim corridor and into Chiyume's room.

The drapes in the window kept the moon from shining in, but by now Gaara could have made his way thought this room blindfolded.

He walked up the bed and crouched down and for moment he saw a pair of yellow, predatorial eyes peer back at him, but when he looked again they were gone and there were just Chiyume's green ones left.

"It's just me."

_Just imagination. Just the dreams playing tricks on me._

He tried to convince himself that, but it didn't work very well.

He hesitated, not sure of how Chiyume would react, but then he began crawling in under the bed.

He laid down on the floor, leaving two feet between himself and the girl.

Chiyume looked at him.

Gaara knew that she could see him clearly; the darkness was daylight to her after all.

"You can't sleep?"

Green eyes met his.

"Me neither…"

He wasn't sure about what else he should say.

Maybe he shouldn't say anything at all.

He was completely convinced that Chiyume could read his body language as easily as he would read a book, but for some reason it wasn't enough. He needed to say this.

"It must have been hard…"

Chiyume tilted her head.

"The things they did to you…"

He looked away, unable to meet her gaze. A pair of yellow eyes flashed before his vision and he gritted his teeth.

"I don't dream." He said, unsure of how to explain.

"I didn't even use to sleep. I tried, but… Even now when he's gone I don't need to…. But…"

_Damn it, why did it have to be so hard!_

"Your memories. Every time I go to sleep I see your memories. I relive them."

He could hear Chiyume shift her body and when he looked up her face was right in front of him.

He felt a finger gently brush against his lower lip.

He didn't have to speak. She knew.

A second finger touched his forehead and traced over his Kanji.

The tingling again and as if they had been his own, he got overflowed with the incredibly strong feelings of guilt and sorrow.

She was so sorry. She never intended to…

"It's okay."

No it wasn't.

"You didn't know what you were doing."

Chiyume sighed as she removed her hand and curled up with her knees pressed against her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She yawned and Gaara could feel her drowsiness slowly starting to rub of on him.

He laid there and listened to the soothing song coming from the crickets outside the window, the steady, calm sound of Chiyume's breaths and without noticing it, Sabaku no Gaara fell asleep.


	7. The Art of Socialisation

**Chapter 6 – The Art of Socialisation**

The next morning Gaara, Naruto and Sakura were called to the Hokage's office.

When they arrived she instructed them to have a seat and then looked at them seriously.

"How is she doing?"

Who "she" was, no one had to ask.

"Better, Tsunade-sama." Sakura said. "She still has issues with physical contact and sudden movements, but she's way better then when she first arrived."

"And the light issue?"

"The drapes are still up, though we actually got them changed into thinner ones yesterday when we were away bathing."

Tsunade nodded and looked at Gaara.

"Has she said anything yet?"

Gaara shook his head slowly. Tsunade sighed and folded her hands on the desk.

"I had hoped that she'd be more communicatable before we started this… but I guess there's no help for it…"

"Starts doing what?" Naruto scowled.

"Socialise her."

"Huh?"

The female Hokage stood up and walked around to the front of the desk.

"She can't stay in the hospital forever. She has to come out and start interacting with other people, the sooner the better. We have to make sure she won't panic if she gets into contact with other then ourselves. Besides, we need the rooms for other patients."

"But… Tsunade-sama…" Sakura stuttered. "She hasn't gotten used to the sun yet. We can't take her outside."

"Then bring people to her. Frankly, I don't care how it's done, but she has to get used to other people. And since she trusts the three of you, then you are the ones to do it. Get it done."

"That old Hag!"

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped.

"What? You heard her! She was talking as if Chiyume was just some stray animal or something!"

They had just walked out of Tsunade's office and the door barely had time too close behind them before Naruto bursted out in a major spouting on all the less flattering things about the Hokage he could think of.

"I mean, how can she say that?! She knows what she went through before she got here! She saw it herself, and still she's being such a bitch, acting like Chiyume's nothing but trouble!"

They reached the bottom of the stairs and proceeded down Konoha's main street.

"Well, I can't say that she put it in a very polite way." Sakura agreed. "But you have to admit that she's got a point. Chiyume can't stay in the hospital forever. At some point she's got to learn how to be around others as well. And if anyone's going to teach her, it might as well be us."

Naruto frowned but couldn't find anything to counter with. Instead he sighed and rolled his eyes at the sky.

"So… Who do we pick?"

Sakura bit her lower lip, thinking for a while before she answered.

"I think that whoever we pick, it should be someone in our age. If we bring in an adult she might think something's wrong…"

"…and scare the crap out of her, yeah, I know."

Naruto tried to imagine Chiyume's reaction if they introduced her to Gai or Ero-sennin. It wasn't pretty…

"It should be someone who can read people." Sakura continued. "Chiyume's got a highly developed body-language, so whoever it is must be able to pick up on that." She thought for a while. "Maybe we should go for someone who's not that loud as well. She still gets nervous from sudden movements or noises."

Naruto scowled.

That last part definitely ruled out Bushy-brows. Someone quiet…

"How about Shikamaru?"

"Nah…. He would probably just fall asleep or something. We're supposed to socialise her, not alienate her…"

They kept walking.

"Hinata?" Naruto tried.

"Well… I think that she might get to nervous. She's always fidgeting and stuff and that might rub of on Chiyume. And even if it doesn't, I don't think she'll be able to handle those looks Chiyume gives people."

"Yeah… That's quite a stare, isn't it…? But how about Neji?"

"He would definitely be able to handle the staring, but… He doesn't speak much. And when he does he's always acting as if he's giving a lecture. I don't think that would work out."

Naruto chuckled to himself.

He could really see Chiyume give Neji that lowering snort of hers and then promptly fall asleep on him. Maybe it wouldn't work out sociably, but it sure as hell would be entertaining.

"Okay, so Neji's out. Shino?"

"You've got to be kidding me?!"

"Ehm… yeah, just kidding…. Ino then?"

"I am _not_ letting Chiyume's social training be supervised by _her_!"

"Okay, okay! You come up with something then."

"I'm thinking."

The walk continued. By now they had reached the hospital and turned of from the main street and onto one of the roads leading to the small park area opposite to the large building.

When entering the park there were some children playing soccer and an old couple sitting on a bench, but apart from that they were the only ones there.

They found a bench and sat down, except Gaara, who remained standing. After watching the kids for a while Naruto decided to try again.

"How about Tenten?"

"That could work. Only… Tenten means that Gai-sensei eventually will get involved and I don't think there's any point in bringing him into this until later. _Way_ later…"

One of the boys that were playing broke apart from the group and ran up to a small dog that had been lying underneath a tree nearby. The puppy wagged its tail and jumped up to lick the boy's face, barking happily.

"What about Kiba?"

Sakura turned towards him.

"What?"

"Kiba. He would do, wouldn't he?"

"Who's Kiba?" Gaara asked.

Naruto and Sakura gave a startled jump. The other boy had been so quiet all this time that they had almost forgotten that he was there.

"Eh… Brown haired guy. Has a dog."

"Oh. Him."

"But, Naruto… Kiba… He's… I don't know."

"What?" Naruto looked at her confused.

"Isn't he… a bit… over energetic?"

"Not that bad. He can keep his cool if he has to."

"But he's so… blunt!"

"And she's not?"

"He will do."

They both looked at the redhead.

"Are you sure?" Sakura said hesitatingly.

Gaara gave her a straight look that made her blush slightly and look away. Gaara turned and began walking away.

"Tell him to bring the dog."

------------------

"Now remember; no sudden movements, be quiet and don't try to touch her. Let her come to you." Kiba resisted the urge to sigh. Sakura had repeated the same thing more then thirteen times already.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

They were standing outside the door to Chiyume's room. Gaara and Naruto were already inside, waiting for them to enter.

Kiba had been up to the task as soon as Naruto had asked him. After all, he was going to get to see the mysterious girl everybody's been talking about for the past two weeks. Who would miss out on a chance like that?

If only Sakura could stop acting like a human hen and let him in, that was.

"I know what to do. It's fine." He said assuringly and glanced down at Akamaru.

Akamaru wagged his tail conformingly and Sakura, still frowning doubtingly, placed her hand on the handle and slowly opened the door.

The first thing that came to his mind was a silent wondering about how the hell they had planned for him to see anything. The room was completely dark! At least that's what he thought until Sakura closed the door behind them and the dusk turned into night around them.

He felt a hand being placed on his shoulder and Sakura's voice sounding from behind him.

"Stand still until your eyes get used to the dark."

She didn't need to tell him twice. He did not want to scare the other girl to death by stumbling around in this darkness.

So he stood still and slowly he started making out the contours of the room against the black curtains.

Naruto was standing by the window and in the light that streamed in from above the curtains Kiba noticed that he for once didn't have that stupid grin spread all across his face.

In fact he looked… quite…. serious.

He turned his head and saw that Gaara was sitting in a chair next to him by the door. He too had a serious look on his face, but since when did Gaara look anything but serious?

Then Sakura walked past him and up to the edge of the bed and that's when he spotted her.

Or at least her eyes.

Golden, almost illuminating in the dark, completely focused on him.

"Chiyume, this is Kiba and Akamaru. They are friends."

The eyes shifted to Sakura for a split second and then they were back on him again.

He blinked. He could have sworn that those eyes had been golden yellow before. Now they were bright green. He glanced at the others, but none of them gave any signs that he had noticed anything.

He turned back to Chiyume and raised his hand slowly, giving a little wave. Even by that small movement the girl flinched and crouched together on the bed.

Sakura gave him a quick glance and shook her head to let him know that it wasn't his fault.

"Chiyume, it's all right. He won't hurt you."

No answer. She just kept looking at him.

Man, Naruto sure didn't overdo it when he said that she could stare!

"She doesn't speak right?" he asked.

"No. Gaara says that she can, but she just won't do it."

Suddenly Akamaru left Kiba's side and barked. Chiyume immediately turned her gaze on him.

"Akamaru! Be quiet, you're scaring her."

But the big dog didn't seem to be listening. Instead he walked straight up to the bed, tail wagging madly and the tongue hanging out of his mouth in a big dog grin.

To everybody's surprise Chiyume didn't move.

Akamaru sat down by the head end of the bed in front of her and looked up, still wagging his tail.

After what seemed like an eternity Chiyume reached out a hand and touched the white fur on Akamaru's head, still keeping eye contact with the dog.

Akamaru yawned and stretched out his front paws and laid down. Chiyume reached down and continued to stroke the dog gently over the back.

Everyone except Gaara stared at the dog and Chiyume. Kiba became aware of the fact that he was holding his breath and let it out with a huff.

"What the hell just happened?" Naruto asked, confusion chiming in his voice like a bell.

Kiba shook his head, still looking at his dog.

"I don't know."

Akamaru raised his head and snorted loudly at his owner.

"Hey! Don't you call me stupid!"

Akamaru yawned again. Naruto thought it looked very mockingly.

"Don't act like such a know-it-all! Tell me what you told her."

A bark.

"Huh? The truth?"

Kiba looked completely clueless.

"But we did that to. What makes you so special?"

A new bark with a small "moff"-sound in the end and then a new snort.

"What did he say?" Sakura looked at he dog.

Kiba scowled.

"Animals don't lie to each other."

Sakura looked at him.

"To each other? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know."

By the window Naruto suddenly remembered something and swirled around to point at Gaara.

"You knew this! That's why you wanted him to bring Akamaru along!"

Gaara simply shrugged.

"How could you know that she would trust him nut not Kiba?"

Sakura looked at the big canine which was now happily snoozing on the floor while Chiyume scratched him behind his ears.

Gaara shrugged again.

"I thought it was obvious."

"What?"

The red head sighed and glared at them, annoyed over the fact that they didn't understand.

"She has no reason to trust humans. Just because we say that Kiba is a friend doesn't make it true. But if an animal tells her the same, it has to be."

"Because animals don't lie…" Kiba looked up at him.

"Yes."

The dog-ninja slowly turned towards the bed and started walking towards it.

Chiyume looked up, but didn't show any signs that she was afraid of him.

Kiba sat down beside Akamaru and stroked him slowly over the back. Chiyume looked at his hand for a moment, and then went ahead and did the same.

Akamaru looked up at them and wagged his tail with a grin.

Kiba snorted.

"Don't get so full of yourself…"

------------------

The night lowered itself over Konoha. The stars twinkled gently above the rooftops like shining reflections of the light from the many windows underneath them.

Five shadows were standing lined up on a small hill overlooking the village.

The one on the centre did a small movement with its head and immediately one of the other four figures broke out of the ranks and joined its side. It's voice was guttural and sounded more like a growl then anything else when it spoke, low and drenched with ill intentions.

"The target's been located."

The other figure, who seemed to be the leader, looked down on the village.

If the other's voice had been a growl, then this one's was a hiss, reminding a whole lot of the sound that is created when two dry bones were being rasped against each other.

"Survey the area and send a report back to Kabuto-sama. Tell him that we're standing by, awaiting further orders."

The first figure snarled and then it disappeared together with the other three, leaving the first shadow on its own, a black silhouette against the star filled sky that seemed to suck out the last traces of light from the world. 

* * *

**Dum-Dum-Dum-Duuum!  
**


	8. Moon Gazing

**Chapter 7 – Moon Gazing**

After that first meeting, Kiba and Akamaru continued to visit Chiyume as soon as they got the chance.

She was a very interesting person, least to say, and even if they just spend their time in a single, covered up room, her company never got boring.

At first both Gaara and Naruto had been there, but when it became clear that Chiyume had accepted Kiba as a friend, Gaara left the three of them alone.

Despite all that had happened, his original purpose in Konoha was still official business, and official business didn't wait.

Both Kankuro and Temari had returned back to the sand village to take care of things there until Gaara got back, and as it was now, no one could tell when that would be.

At this point it was clear that Chiyume would not try to run away from them, so they no longer had to spend every waking minute with her, which at least made Naruto a bit happier. Now he could go back to his training and spend some time out doors again.

He didn't know if Tsunade had drawn back the ANBUs yet, but Sakura pointed out that everything was probably being held under control, otherwise they would not have been allowed to leave her alone in the first place…

So, Naruto, Sakura and Kiba were left with Chiyume, and it didn't take long until they deemed it safe to start bringing other people in to see her as well, after carefully planning on who it would be first.

First up was Shikamaru, who turned out to get along extremely well with the girl.

Their friendship consisted of Shikamaru lying on the floor with his eyes closed, thinking of whatever he found interesting at the moment, and Chiyume lying on the bed, looking at the lazy ninja with what seemed to be undivided attention.

Next was Chouji. His way of bonding was simple - he brought food.

Lots of food.

Sakura frowned when Chiyume happily grabbed another handful of potato chips from the bag he offered her.

"She shouldn't eat so much junk food; it's not good for her."

"Aw, Sakura-chan, it's not that bad. Let her enjoy herself." Naruto threw his arms behind his head and leaned back into the chair.

"But she'll spoil her appetite and then she won't eat the real food later!"

"I wouldn't either, that hospital food tastes like shit."

Sakura glared at Naruto.

Chouji nodded affirmably.

"It does, you know…"

With a killing glare Sakura almost cracked the door in half when she slammed it shut and stomped down the hallway.

-----------------

At the same time Chiyume's social training started to pay of, Gaara's nightmares slowly began decreasing.

They grew less frequent and consisted more of flashing images and impressions then actual events.

The shock his body had been forced to take on when Chiyume's memories got transferred to him also wore of and he found that he didn't need to sleep during the day anymore.

Still, there were times when he would wake up in the middle of the night, clutching the sheets with his hands and a horrified scream trying to claw its way up his throat.

When that happened he had developed a habit to walk into Chiyume's room and sit there for a while, watching and listening to the girl as she slept, or just keep her company if she didn't.

She had begun to sleep in the bed now, so he no longer needed to get down and crawl on the floor to make eye contact with her.

They didn't speak.

They didn't need to.

During the month they had spent together, constantly being around one another, and the fact that they shared each other's memories, had made the need for conversation redundant.

Still, the nightmares kept appearing, disturbing his sleep and making his heart almost jump out of his chest.

Tonight happened to be one of those nights.

He snapped his eyes open and sat up straight in the bed, forcing back a panicked cry.

Shivering, he got up and pulled his robe and trousers on and walked out of the room.

Chiyume was asleep, curled up underneath the covers of the bed, breathing peacefully.

Gaara watched her for a while, standing by the lower end of the bed. The sight of the girl sleeping always seemed to sooth his nerves in an unexplainable way. Maybe it was the knowledge of that she was in fact here and not in those dungeons that made him so calm. Knowing she was safe.

He made his way to the windows and pulled one of the drapes aside.

The night was cloudless and the light from the full moon bathed the village of Konoha in silver.

He sat down on the floor, leaning his head against the wall and looked up at the shining orb above.

It seemed so distant now, that he used to look upon the night sky with such hate and loathing.

He had always thought of the night as peaceful and even beautiful sometimes, but at the same time he had hated it from the very core of his being.

So many nights he had spent watching the moon. Looked on in solitude how it went from new to full with a growing, smothering feeling in his chest and then from full to new again.

Over and over again.

He had no idea of how long he had been sitting there, but he must have dozed of for a moment because his head suddenly shot up when his ears detected the sound of movements from the bed.

He looked over only to find Chiyume sitting up, turned away from him with her hands shading her eyes against the moonlight that shone in through the window, creating a square of light on the floor where he was sitting. Slowly, blinking against the light, she turned towards him and without saying anything she climbed out of the bed, still shading her eyes and walked up to the square and looked at it.

Gaara watched as she slowly placed one of her feet into it, as if she expected the light to burn her. When nothing happened she stepped in completely and sat down next to him, but hissed when the full brightness of the moon hit her eyes.

"It's okay." Gaara reached out and pulled close the drapes a bit.

"It's just the moon."

She looked at him questioning, as if she didn't really understand.

"The moon. It's not dangerous."

She tilted her head to the side, her typical way of showing that she didn't get it.

God, she didn't even know what the moon was?

Feeling a bit silly he pointed out the window.

"The round thing in the sky. The shining thing. The moon."

She scowled and leaned over his lap and pulled the drapes apart again, slowly as if she suspected the light to pounce on her from the other side, blinking in the light that suddenly flooded them.

Then she just sat there, leaning over him and looked up at the sky with her mouth slightly opened in fascination.

Gaara pointed to the moon again, feeling as if he was talking to a child.

"Moon. Do you understand? That's the moon."

She glanced at him and snorted. She wasn't _that_ stupid.

After a while the girl suddenly laid down promptly, resting her head in his lap and yawned widely before immediately falling asleep.

Just like Naruto, the girl seemed to be able to sleep anywhere, at anytime.

Gaara had never been exposed much too physical contact and having a girl sleeping on his lap wasn't exactly something he had any experience in.

Before, he had been resting his hands on his knees, but since they were now occupied with another, breathing and sleeping person, he suddenly didn't have anywhere to put them.

He tried to find a new place for them, but the only place available would be _on_ the girl's sleeping body and the thought of having them there felt a bit… inappropriate.

He sighed. She had an entire bed to her disposal, so why did she have to sleep _here_?

He looked down on her.

The hair was a mess, as always, and her mouth was slightly open, lips curved in an almost invisible smile. She looked as if she didn't have a trouble in the world.

Hesitantly he placed his right hand on her head, gently brushing a few strands of hair away from her face. She yawned again and nuzzled her face against his hand.

The boy gazed up on the moon again and leaned his head back and sighed before closing his eyes.

He would wait until she was fully asleep, then he would probably be able to move her to the bed unnoticed and go back to his room.

A few hours later Sakura opened the door to do her morning round and saw the two of them sleeping peacefully by the window.

She decided that the morning check up wouldn't really be necessary today and closed the door silently with a smile.

-----------------

The weeks passed, slowly but surely and the late spring turned into full summer.

The air was shimmering in the heat of the sun that shone above the rooftops with, what felt like, an unnatural brightness.

In other words, it was a perfect summer.

However, the insane weather brought along a different kind of problem that none of them had predicted.

"Sakura, she's doing it again!"

Sakura turned around just in time to see Chiyume reach over and pull her shirt over her head.

"No! Chiyume, you have to keep that on!"

She hurried up to the girl and firmly pulled the shirt back down.

Chiyume sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Is it clear?" Naruto asked from behind her.

"Its okay, you can turn around."

Naruto turned around and removed his hands from his eyes which he had covered for safeties sake.

It was obvious that the warm weather was bothering the girl. Half of the time she looked like a half-withered flower and she repeatedly tried to take of her clothes to cool down, not really caring who was around at the moment.

Clearly, she had not been able to grasp the meaning of the word "decency" yet…

The first time it happened, Naruto had been alone with her, peacefully studying a scroll, lying on the floor when suddenly something soft landed on top of his head. He pulled the piece of clothing of and turned around, only to find a shirtless Chiyume, sitting on the bed, struggling to get her trousers of.

After that incident, which ended with a madly blushing and stuttering Naruto, Sakura had given the girl a lesson in proper, decent behaviour and at least _tried_ to explain that taking of your clothes in front of other people was something you _just didn't do_.

Her lecture didn't work.

Gaara pointed out to them that she had been living underground in a cold cave all her life and that they should buy her some new, lighter clothes.

"We would have to go outside for that." Sakura sighed and looked at the baggy sweater Chiyume was wearing. "She's not used to the sunlight yet and walking out among that many people might scare her. The town would probably be too much right now."

"Why don't you go, Sakura-chan?" Naruto looked at the girl on the bed. "You could buy clothes for her."

"Baka!" she snarled. "I don't know her size. If I go on intuition I might come back with clothes she can't use, and I can't use my own size, cause she's much smaller then me."

"Okay, okay, sorry. I didn't know that it would be that hard."

She snorted, not to unlike the way Chiyume used to do and Naruto silently wondered to himself if that behaviour was rubbing of, or if it was just some female-thing he didn't understand?

He turned around and was about to walk over to the window, but quickly looked away with a face red as a beet, raising his hand to cover his eyes.

"Sakura!" he winced.

"Chiyume, I said _no_!"

They decided to wait.

And waited they did, until one day Naruto walked into Chiyume's room and found the door to the balcony wide open and Chiyume no where to be seen.

He sprinted to the door, only to find the girl sitting on the ledge of the balcony, dangling her feet in midair with the summer breeze playing in her hair, not seemingly bothered a bit by the strong sunlight.

"Yo, Naruto. Long time, no see."

Naruto turned towards the voice and saw Kakashi leaning against the wall, also sitting on the ledge with his Icha-Icha Paradise in front of his face.

"K-Kakashi-sensei? W-what are you doing here? And…" he pointed at Chiyume. "What is _she_ doing out _here_?!"

Kakashi lowered the book and glanced at Chiyume.

"What does it look like she's doing?"

"S-she's… I… But…But she doesn't like the sun…" he said, staring at the girl.

"Really? She doesn't look that bothered to me. She used to be a lot worse."

"Used to?"

"Well, when she first started joining me out here, she didn't want to go outside at all. She just sat behind the curtain. But now it seems as if she's gotten over that part."

As if noticing that they were talking about her, Chiyume turned her head and looked at them.

Naruto was speechless.

"How long?" he asked, not being able to think of anything else to ask.

Kakashi threw his arms behind his head in a perfect imitation of Shikamaru and looked up at the sky.

"Lets see… about two weeks, I'm not quite sure."

"TWO WEEKS!?"

The jounin looked down on the gaping blonde.

"Something's wrong with that?"

"W-we, we've been trying to get her used to the sun for, like….ever! And now you're telling me that she's been able to go outside for _two weeks_!?

"Well, technically she's only been able to go out here for about half a week…"

"Whatever! Why didn't you tell us?!"

Kakashi looked at him.

"I thought you already knew. She's been out here quite often lately."

Naruto gave the masked man a misbelieving look and then a thought hit him.

"Why are you out here, anyway?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Enjoying the nice weather, it seems."

"Not now! Why did you start hanging out here in the first place?!"

"It's a great reading spot. The sun shines on you, but there's still enough shade not to get blinded by the light."

Naruto blinked.

"There's no way you're just here to read."

"Don't say that, these kinds of places are hard to find."

"Liar! Tsunade told you to come here didn't she?! She didn't trust that Chiyume wouldn't run away!"

"I don't know anything about that" He raised the book "But look at it this way: at least now the girl's out in the sun, getting some fresh air. And that obviously saves you a lot of time, so what's there to complain about?"

Naruto stared at him and then he started yelling, waving his hands around, telling the silver haired ninja _exactly_ what he had to complain about.

Chiyume looked at them for a while, but soon got bored with the blonde's yelling and turned back to her viewing of Konoha kicking playfully with her feet in the air.

-----------------

Later that day, Naruto and Sakura took Chiyume with them to do some well needed shopping.

At first she were acting nervously amongst all the people walking the streets and they feared that they might have to take her back to the hospital again, but after a while she seemed to relax.

Fascinated, she looked at all the people. Children seemed to interests her greatly and she looked on gapingly when a group of kids ran passed them, yelling and laughing happily while playing a game of tag.

She tried to look at everything at once, her head turning, not wanting to miss a single detail. Naruto thought she looked like a curious child herself.

The first thing they bought her was a new set of clothes.

The result was a long sleeved fishnet sweater with a wide scoop neck collar over a deep purple halter-neck top, a pair of black trousers with fishnet slits' on the sides and a pair of black fingerless leather gloves.

They also tried to make her wear shoes, but they quickly abandoned the idea when they saw they way she walked with them. It reminded awfully much of a limping hen with equilibrium difficulties.

It was with a dismissing snort that she had thrown the shoes away and walked ahead of them out of the store, shoeless and completely satisfied.

They were now walking down the main street in the pursuit of something to eat. Naruto had insisted on that Chiyume had to try some of Ichiraku's ramen, so they decided to head that way when suddenly someone called out o them.

"Naruto-kun! Sakura-san!"

They turned around and saw Lee, Tenten and Neji come walking towards them. Well, Neji and Tenten were walking, Lee was running.

"Hey, Fuzzy-brows. What's up?"

Lee came to a halt and smiled his usual, bedazzling smile.

"We've just finished our report on our last mission to the Hokage."

"Oh… What mission?"

Lee began describing the mission, in detail, starting from when Tsunade had handed them de mission, and Naruto immediately regretted that he ever asked.

Chiyume was looking at the green boy with a puzzled expression, as if she was wondering if the boy really was a human or some sort of walking, talking vegetable.

Sakura didn't blame her.

"Oi, Sakura." Tenten called, putting her backpack down on the ground.

"Hi, Tenten. Hi Neji. How have you two been?"

Tenten massaged her neck gently.

"Fine, considering the circumstances."

"What circumstances?"

Neji sighed.

"Gai-sensei made us run all the way from the wind country."

"He got an idea about setting a new record and Lee of course went along with it." Tenten continued. "We didn't have much choice then to follow."

"Oh…"

Sakura glanced back at the young ninja.

"He doesn't look tired though…"

Tenten shook her head.

"I know." She wrinkled her nose. "It's so annoying…"

She looked over at Chiyume who was still looking at Lee, who was talking and gesturing wildly, as if she wasn't sure to decide on if he was just really, really happy or completely mad.

"Who's she?"

"Oh…" Sakura turned her eyes away from the exaggerating Lee and placed a hand on Chiyume's shoulder. The girl flinched slightly, caught of guard for a second, but then relaxed again.

"This is Chiyume. Chiyume, this is Tenten and Neji." She turned back to the other two.

"Gaara and his siblings found her in a river in the Rain country and..."

She was suddenly cut of when Chiyume walked past her and straight up to Neji.

She stopped right in front of him and stared mesmerized at his eyes.

The Hyuuga got an uncomfortable look on his face, but didn't move, standing his ground against the eye-minded assault.

"What is she doing?" He asked Sakura, who seemed just as clueless as he.

"I don't know."

Chiyume kept looking confoundedly at Neji, and Neji began to look as if he was being eyed down by some very large, very _hungry_ predator.

Chiyume leaned even closer and Neji took a step back, failing for a moment to keep his composure together.

Chiyume's nose was only a fingers breadth away from his and for a split second he thought she was going to kiss him. Then silently, so quiet he first though he had imagined it, she whispered a single word.

"Moon…"

The Hyuuga scowled.

"What?"

She took a step back and looked at him.  
"Moon." She repeated.

Naruto stepped away from Lee who stopped talking when he noticed that the blonde wasn't listening anymore.

"What did she just say?"

Chiyume turned around and looked at him.

"Moon." She insisted and looked at him as if he was stupid.

Naruto looked at Sakura.

"What does she mean?"

Sakura shrugged.

"I have no idea."

Chiyume snorted and turned her dark rimmed gaze back to Neji, who twitched slightly when she once again leaned in on him.

She was standing very close now and he could feel her breath on his cheeks when she stared him in the eyes.

He felt his mouth go dry and swallowed, flickering his eyes from side to side, looking for some kind of distraction from those piercing, green eyes.

It felt as if she was looking straight into his head and the thought made him nervous.

He suddenly felt a small tingling on his left hand and looked down and saw that the girl's hand was resting gently on top of his.

He jerked it away in a very un-Hyuuga like manner, realised this and straightened up.

The faintest of smiles brushed over the girl's lips and then she backed away and returned to her place next to Sakura, as if nothing had happened.

Tenten looked at her, then at her confounded team mate and then back to the girl again.

"What was that all about?"

Neji shook his head, still looking at the raven girl.

He had no idea why, but he had this uncomfortable feeling that the girl, for just a couple of seconds, had read his mind.

No, that was just stupid. Those eyes of hers were just playing tricks on him, that's all.

There was a moment of silence and then Naruto broke the it by throwing his arms behind his head, grinning widely.

"So… Anyone who's hungry?" 


	9. Moving Out

**Chapter 8 – Moving Out**

From that moment, Chiyume started talking.

It was as if a mental wall had been torn down, opening up a completely new area of her mind.

It advanced in baby steps at first, but slowly she began learning how to use her voice again.

However, the fact that she could speak, didn't mean that she did it often.

Her vocabulary was more or less the same as when she was six years old, except for the few words she had been able to pick up while at the slave traders' and at Orochimaru's hideout.

Most of the time she would just give one of them a slight nudge and then point or gesture to get her message through.

The nudging and pointing also played part when she was learning new words and the others explained as well as they could. Sometimes she would repeat the word to herself, letting the syllables roll over her tongue as if they were pieces of sweets that she was tasting, trying out the feeling of using the word. Other times she would listen to the explanation and then turn away, seemingly loosing interest only to resume the nudging and pointing about a new object seconds after.

It also didn't take long until she discovered that the symbols on the scrolls and signs everywhere around her actually were representing words as well and she immediately walked of to Sakura and basically kept thrusting random scrolls in her arms until she got the point and taught her how to read and write.

Now, normally this would have taken time.

A loooong time.

But for some reason it didn't.

In just two days the girl was already reading easy children's books that Sakura had left from when she had been younger and in a week she went over to real books.

During week two, the pink haired kunoichi gave her a dictionary which Chiyume then spent several hours a day reading.

"Man, she's really determined to learn that, isn't she?"

Naruto looked at the girl sitting on the balcony, dangling her feet in the air as usual, balancing on the rail while reading the thick book.

"Yeah. I have no idea how she does it though. Learning it all that fast should be impossible!"

"Yeah… I guess it should…"

But as long as the girl was happy and learning, none of them complained.

Although, they soon discovered that the girls hunger for knowledge of words wasn't always a good thing, when Chiyume got hold of Kakashi-sensei's beloved Icha Icha Paradise.

None of them knew _how_ she got it, but the fact that she had revealed itself one day when they were in the park with the three members of Team Gai and Chiyume resolutely walked up to Neji with a harmless expression on her face and asked him what "fucking" meant.

The Hyuuga prodigy's face flushed ten shades of red and he started stuttering while Chiyume just kept looking at him with innocent eyes.

"W-well… i-it means, it's… I-I… _Were did you hear that word_?!" He finally managed to sputter out and the girl reached inside her pocket and pulled the book out and held it up, making Neji blush even harder, if possible.

So off she was to Tsunade, who got the honour of explaining the whole "flower-and-the-bee"-thing to her.

When she and Sakura left the Hokage's tower she looked extremely puzzled and when they met up with the others at the base of the stairs she openly began staring at the boys, making them all squirm uncomfortable.

She spent the rest of the day, cautiously always keeping Sakura or Tenten between herself and the boys. That in itself was annoying, but when she started flinching and staring at them as if they were a bunch of homicidal maniacs as soon as they made the slightest hint of getting close to her, things started to get down to pure what problematic.

So off she was to Tsunade for the second time, to fill in the obvious gaps that had occurred during their first talk.

This time, when she got back down she looked at each and every one of the boys closely and then smirked and walked away.

Somehow that was even worse then the staring…

------------------

It wasn't long until the question about where the girl would be staying was brought up.

Tsunade called the ones that seemed to get along the best with the girl to her office, letting them know that the time for Chiyume's departure from the hospital had come.

She looked at the gathered in front of her.

"So… I've thought it through and come to this conclusion; Who ever takes her in must be someone that she trusts, that much I think you've been able to figure out yourselves. Now, that points directly towards Gaara or Naruto, but I've got another thing prepared for you, so that rules you out."

Naruto glanced at Gaara, who didn't make any objections and then nodded.

"Next, it should be someone with at least some basic medical experience, in case something should happen. Her vital organs are stabilised now and she's able to eat most kinds of food, but her body is still weak."

She looked at Sakura, who blushed.

"Tsunade-sama… No matter how much I'd like to, and I do, but my house is way too small. I barely have room there myself, and to take her in as well…"

Tsunade waved her away.

"Don't worry, Sakura, I wasn't planning on letting you have her anyway. The fact that she trusts you the most except for Gaara and Naruto might only cause her to alienate herself from the others if she's placed with you. We don't want to get the work we've put down on her socialisation to be wasted."

Her gaze continued around the room.

Shikamaru didn't have any medical experience and his leisurely lifestyle would be turned completely upside down if he was to take on the girl.

Neji were too… delicate… considering Chiyume's… _natural _and bashless nature he would probably have a heart attack or something within the first 24 hours…

Chouji? He was a kind person, but considering Chiyume's health, leaving her to stay with him would probably only lead to her eating the completely wrong things and send her straight back to the hospital again. Potato chips in all it's glory, but too much simply wasn't healthy…

Tenten… Chiyume didn't know her that well…

Lee? … No.

"Inuzuka, you take her."

Kiba choked on his own breath.

"Me?!"

"Yes. You."

"B-but… I don't have any medical training!"

"Not you, but your sister does."  
"She's a vet!"

"That's good enough. It's not like she's going to perform surgery on her."

"Bu-but…"

"I have already spoken to your sister of the circumstances and she has agreed to let the girl stay. She's moving in tomorrow."

"I can't take care of her by myself!"

Tsunade sighed, starting to get slightly irritated with the objecting boy.

"I never said that you'd have to. She's everyone's responsibility, but she has to stay somewhere, or in other words, with you. Your task is to make sure that she eats and sleeps properly and stays put in Konoha."

"Stays put?" Sakura looked confused. "But, Tsunade-sama, do you think that she would try to leave?"

Naruto stared at them.

"She wouldn't do that! This is all she has, where would she possibly want to go?!" He glared at Tsunade, who glared right back.

"I never said that she would want to leave voluntarily, brat. She escaped from Orochimaru's hideout, a deed impossible in itself, and from what Gaara has told us, she wasn't just some sort of experimental toy. She was important and there is a great risk that they'll come looking for her."

The others didn't seem surprised by the information, but Naruto's eyes widened and his fists clenched at his sides.

"They would never make it to her, we'd stop them!"

"Exactly. And that's the reason to why she will not be left alone from now on."

She looked at them.

"Your new mission is to make sure that Chiyume is never left unattended. One of you will always be with her and make sure she doesn't wander off by herself."

She was met with quiet nods.

"Also… Naruto and Gaara. I have another mission for you."

The others looked at each other.

Gaara was the Kazekage of Suna, no matter the situation; Tsunade couldn't assign him a mission or order him to do anything. The statement had been delivered in the same tone she usually reserved especially for Naruto, that is, a highly annoyed and demanding one and they all unconsciously held their breath to see the Kazekage's reaction towards the impolite order.

One of Gaara's brows rose slightly at her choice of words, but he didn't say anything.

Tsunade seemed to realise that she had gone out of line but it could only be told by the way her tone changed as she continued.

"I want you to trace the girl's origin. That thing she did with Gaara was not a jutsu, and it didn't come from Orochimaru's twisted experiments either. You are going to find her home town and find out as much as you can about her family and then report it back here."

"But how are we going to do that? We don't know anything about where she came from."

"Gaara does."

Gaara didn't say anything.

Tsunade sighed.

"Now, Chiyume is not allowed to know anything about this. I don't want her to go running after you… Once you get back we can decide what we should do about her."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Naruto shot up from his chair and glared at her.

"This is a complicated situation, you all know that. Konoha doesn't usually act as a sanctuary for S-ranked criminal's runaway experiments." She took a deep breath and looked at them. "According to Gaara, Chiyume sometimes… changes. She doesn't remember what happens when she does, but we can be absolutely certain of that she becomes dangerous. Very dangerous. Whatever they did to her, she can't control it. Finding out about her origin and family might give us a chance to teach her how to do that."

Gaara woke up from his thoughts and glanced at the Hokage.

"And if it doesn't?"

His voice was calm and steady, but there was a harsh, almost threatening undertone in it.

Tsunade looked at him.

"Her not being able to control herself might eventually pose a threat to the village and its people, and in that case we'll be forced to take actions against that threat." She said simply.

Sakura gasped.

"No! Tsunade-sama, you wouldn't!"

"I don't want to, but I might not have a choice. I'm not the only one in charge of Konoha, there are even members of the council that oppose to the fact that the Kazekage is here right now, and he's not even a jinchuuriki anymore."

"Are you saying that they would throw her out of the village?" Neji asked calmly.

"In the best case scenario? Without a doubt. The question is, will she be that lucky?"

"Like hell I'll let them do that!" Naruto banged his fist in Tsunade's desk.

"Naruto's right, there's no way you can tell us to stand by and just watch that happen." Akamaru barked agreeing with his owner's words.

Tsunade nodded.

"Exactly. Which brings us back to the reason why you are here in the first place. The mission is to, A; Stay with her and keep her out of trouble. B; Observe her. If she shows any signs of instability, report it back to me. And…"

She gave them all a harsh look.

"If she changes, run. Don't stay around to help her. Just run."

They all nodded, though some were a bit hesitantly and Tsunade sighed again.

"Naruto and Gaara, I want the two of you to stay behind for a while. The rest of you are dismissed."

------------------

When the others had left the office the Hokage turned to face the two boys in front of her.

Naruto was still glaring daggers and Gaara was looking at her with unemotional eyes.

"Do the two of you have anything to ask me?" She asked politely.

Naruto immediately straightened up and pointed at her.

"You bet your ass I do, baa-chan! What the hell was that crap about throwing Chiyume out of the village?! Who do those old farts think they are?! It's not her fault that sick snake-bastard did those things to her! Just because she's different doesn't make her some kind of monster! There's no way they're going to get away with that! Over my dead body!"

He pointed to his chest to enhance the meaning of the last sentence and glared at the female ninja.

He was, to say the least, surprised to see that she was smiling at him.

"What's so funny?!" He yelled and unwillingly felt a blush creep up on his cheeks.

"This is exactly why I want the two of you to carry out this mission."

She left the desk and walked up to the window, looking out. A sad smile crossed her lips.

"People fear that which is different. That's the way things are and always have been. The two of you knows this better then anyone else."

Naruto's angry expression faltered and his shoulders slouched slightly.

Tsunade didn't turn around when she continued.

"I could have sent others to do this. The memories Gaara share with Chiyume probably wouldn't make much difference since she was so young back then anyway. Another group would surely have done a good job and handed in a perfectly written report of the mission when it was over, but that would also be it."

Turning around she locked eyes with the confused blonde behind her.

"Now, just to make it clear to you, brat. I don't want to throw Chiyume out any more then you do. What happened to that girl is horrible beyond the use of words, and to reject her when she needs our help the most would not only be shame to Konoha, but to me as well. Unfortunately, the final decision isn't mine to make…"

She sat down again.

"I need people that I can be sure of to carry out this mission wholeheartedly. If we can prove that she's stabile amongst other people we will be on our way to convince the council that she can stay. However if we also can give her a valid background, proving that she is not a spy and really was kidnapped as a child, they will have no choice."

She pointed to the mission paper in front of her on the desk.

"I want you to put every inch of your hearts and souls into this mission. What you manage to find will be what decides Chiyume's future. No slacking, no giving up. You are not returning here without having found something."

She got up again and turned back towards the window.

"You should prepare yourselves. You're leaving tomorrow."

The two ninjas nodded and got up and headed for the door.

"And Naruto…"

Naruto stopped in the doorway, his hand on the handle and his back towards the room.

"Stay out of trouble, you hear me? You won't be able to help Chiyume if you're dead."

Without answering, Naruto shut the door.

------------------

"Here we go. Welcome to your new home!"

Kiba opened up the door to the Inuzuka residence and showed her in.

Carefully Chiyume entered and sniffed the air inside the house. Kiba laughed.

"There's nothing to be scared of. C'mon, I'll show you to your room."

The began walking down the hallway, but the didn't get very far before there was a loud rumbling sound and then three large, grey dogs emerged through a door and came running towards them through the hallway.

Chiyume immediately curled up and hissed at them and the three dogs skid to a surprised halt and gaped at the unfamiliar creature crouching in front of them.

"Chiyume!"

Chiyume shot Kiba a quick glance but stayed in the same hostile position.

Then a woman came running through the same hallway as the dogs had dashed out from, followed by a fourth dog even bigger then the other three.

This one was black as coal, except for the left front leg and the stomach which were white. It had yellow, wolf-like eyes and the left ear and the right eye were missing, an eye patch covering the spot it should have been in.

The woman stopped when she spotted the trio in the corridor.

"Hey, you! Get back here!"

Then she saw Kiba and the angry girl crouching on the floor.

Kiba grinned at her.

"Are the triplets to much for you to handle Nee-chan?"

The brunette snorted and rolled her eyes at the three dogs.

"The rascals heard the door open and made a run for it."

Her eyes darted down to Chiyume.

"Is that..?"

"Yeah…" Kiba gave her an apologising look. "I guess the triplets scared her…"

The girl nodded and then she glared down at the three grey dogs on the floor.

"You three."

The dogs hunched lower to the floorboards.

"Your training for today is not over yet. Come along!"

She turned and stomped back down the hallway and the dogs followed her, hanging sulkily with their heads.

The black dog looked on as they disappeared through the doorway and snorted.

"Youngsters. Sometimes I wonder how long it will take them to learn that running away from Hana's training is just going to make things worse."

Kiba grinned at him.

"How are you doing, Kuromaru?"

The dog yawned and scratched behind his right ear.

"Not bad. Your sister is taking care of the pups so my day has been pretty calm."

"They're not really puppies anymore, Kuromaru…" Kiba pointed out. The dog gave him an annoyed look.

"They will be as long as they keep behaving like it."

He glanced over at Chiyume, who looked back at him with a now calm expression, as if a talking dog was something she encountered every day.

"So, she's the one, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"What is she?"

"Huh?" Kiba blinked at the question. "Ehh… just a friend."

Kuromaru snorted at him.

"Don't be so stupid. This one's not even human and you know that. What are you thinking bringing a feline like her into a dog's pack?"

Kiba sighed.

"Hokage's orders…"

The dog seemed to relax.

"Oh. Then I guess everything is in order."

He turned towards Chiyume and bent his head slightly.

"_Kangei, itoko_."

Chiyume tilted her head to the side and then she reached out and gave the big dog a pat on the head.

Kuromaru grinned.

"I think I could learn to like this one, pup."

He wagged his tail once and then got up and walked away.

Kiba followed the big canine with his eyes and then glanced down on Chiyume.

Feline, huh? Then his nose hadn't been completely off during the time he had spent in that hospital room…

Of course he knew that she wasn't human. Not entirely anyway. But exactly what she was…

He remembered what Tsunade had said earlier.

_Chiyume sometimes… changes…_

Changes…? What was that supposed to mean? Had she changed when she did that thing to Gaara?

_If she changes, run. Don't stay around to help her. Just run_

Run…

She wasn't human. They had done something to her, he knew that.

But what could it be that made this girl so dangerous that Tsunade told them not to even try and help her if it happened?

Chiyume suddenly straightened up and tilted her head up, as if she was listening to some distant sound. Then rapidly she turned around and darted past him, out through the open door.

"Chiyume! Wait!"  
_Shimata!_

Kiba ran after her, closely followed by Akamaru.

She was fast. Way faster then someone who'd spent their entire life in a cage should be. Kiba had a hard time to keep up with her and when he called out to her to stop she didn't even glance back.

Then she turned and went in the direction of the main gate, jumping over the rooftops in a heartbreaking speed.

Kiba could see two familiar figures standing right by the threshold to the village and he cursed loudly.

------------------

Naruto and Gaara had just met up and were about to head out when suddenly Chiyume jumped of a nearby roof and landed in front of them and gave them a dark, accusing glare.

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Heh, I guess the whole sneaking-away-unnoticed-thing didn't work…"

She flicked her gaze at him and snorted. Then she locked eyes with Gaara who stood quiet with his arms crossed over his chest.

Kiba landed next to them and started apologising for not stopping her, but cut himself of when he realised that the Kazekage wasn't listening.

Something seemed to pass through the air between the girl and the redhead, like invisible electricity, gleaming and flashing angrily.

Chiyume was not happy.

Then Gaara shook his head.

"No."

Chiyume's glare grew darker.

"No. You're not coming with us. You're staying here."

Kiba and Naruto looked at each other.

Chiyume kept glaring at Gaara, but he didn't back down.

Another wordless conversation passed between them and the tension in the air was so thick that Kiba could feel the hairs on his neck stand on end.

Then Chiyume's shoulders slouched and her eyes softened.

She looked at Gaara one last time, almost pleading.

Gaara shook his head again.

"I'm sorry."

Kiba gaped. Did he just hear…Gaara.. say that he was _sorry_?

Chiyume sighed.

"Don't worry, Kiba will take care of you while we're gone!" Naruto gave Kiba a hard shove forward.

She looked at them and sighed again.

"Naruto. We must go."

Gaara began walking through the big gate and Naruto gave Chiyume a final encouraging smile and hurried after the sandninja.

Chiyume stood still and watched the two of them become smaller and smaller until they eventually disappeared behind a hill.

Kiba walked up to her and carefully placed a hand on her shoulder. For once she didn't flinch.

"Don't worry. They'll be back soon."

Chiyume didn't say anything.

------------------

Chiyume had been placed in the guestroom next to Kiba's.

It wasn't big, but it had a bed and a small wardrobe in it and it was good enough to sleep in.

The night had lowered itself over Konoha and Kiba had just stripped down to his boxers and was about to crawl down between the sheets of his own bed, when he heard a soft knock on the door.

Akamaru raised his head of the floor and wagged his tail.

Kiba quickly pulled on a pair of trousers and opened the door, not surprised to find Chiyume standing on the other side, dressed in one of his sister's old two-piece pyjamas'.

Without a word the girl walked passed the dog-nin into the room, dumped her pillow and blanket on the floor next to Akamaru and laid down on it, sighed contently and then fell asleep.

Kiba stared at her and then looked at his dog

"I take it she didn't want to sleep alone, huh?"

Akamaru made a low mewl in the back of his throat and curled up closer to the sleeping girl.

Kiba leaned down and pulled the edge of the blanket over her and then went to bed himself.

Akamaru looked at them, yawned and then laid his head to rest against his front paws.

------------------

Kiba drowsily peeked through his eyelids. It was still dark outside and he could hear Akamaru's breath rise from the floor beside the bed. He moved his head to the side and saw Chiyume sitting on the windowsill with her eyes fixed on the night sky, her silhouette like a black shadow against the moonlit darkness.

"Chiyume…?" he mumbled.

She turned her head towards him.

"Sleep." She whispered and Kiba felt his eyelids grow heavy. He was tired. He wanted to sleep…

_Strange…_ he thought dreamily. _In the moonlight her eyes almost look yellow…_

Then he fell back into the comfortable darkness with a soft sigh.

* * *


	10. Pillow no Jutsu!

**Chapter 9 - Pillow no Jutsu!**

"How is she doing?"

Sakura glanced at the girl lying on her back on the grass behind them, looking up at the sky.

Kiba sighed and whispered back.

"I don't know. I mean, she's eating and acting fine and all that, but… She's not speaking anymore."

Sakura bit her lower lip.

Chiyume's behaviour had changed since Gaara and Naruto left three days ago. To people who didn't know her she probably seemed the same, but to Sakura and Kiba who had spent so much time with her, the change was evident.

The fact that she had stopped talking again made her worry. And not just her. Neji had been throwing scowling glances at the girl all afternoon, but unlike the others he had not done any attempts to start a conversation with her. Perhaps because he was smart enough to know that it wouldn't work.

"You think we should talk to her?" Kiba asked quietly, but Sakura looked doubtful.

"I'm not sure that would make any difference. Without Gaara… He was her link to the rest of us you know… Without him here…"

"Well, its not like she doesn't trust us, is it?" Kiba frowned. "It's not like she's been left all alone."

"Baka." Neji snorted at the dog-nin. "One can feel lonely even in the middle of a crowd. Besides…" He glanced at the girl. "To her we are friends of Gaara and Naruto. Not her."

Sakura nodded agreeing but Kiba just folded his arms and glared at Neji.

"So? Then we'll just have to make friends with her, right?"

Sakura shook her head.

"I don't think it will be that simple, Kiba."

"Why not?"

Neji gave him an irritated look.

"We can't force ourselves on her, stupid."

"I know that! And don't call me stupid, I'm not seeing you making any attempts of helping out here!"

"Stop it both of you!"

Sakura glared at them.

Kiba glared at Neji but the other raven just turned away with a snort.

"By the way, Kiba…"

Sakura leaned closer to him.

"Has she shown any signs of wanting to run away yet?"

Kiba shook his head.

"No. Although… She keeps staring out the window every night. I'm not sure if she even sleeps anymore..."

Sakura sighed.

"Well… I guess there's nothing we can do right now… We'll have to wait and see if she starts talking soon… Let's give her some time."

-----------------

"Chiyume! Don't go running off!"

Kiba called out after the quickly advancing girl as she walked down the street.

He and Akamaru were following as closely behind as they could manage, keeping a watchful eye on her. Luckily there weren't that many people out on the streets today, so keeping track of her was fairly easy.

Kiba sighed and watched as Chiyume walked from one display-window to another, eyeing their content with an unfaltering interest.

She had been staying with him for a little more then two weeks now. At first it had been easy. She had spent her time in the room she had been given, reading one of those books she had gotten from Sakura. Or she would be out playing with the dogs in the backyard under supervision of Kiba or his older sister.

But as the days passed it became clear that Chiyume was becoming bored and by now her insatiable craving for attention had begun to get to his nerves.

The poking, the looks, the frowns, the snorts, the never ending wordless questions, they had all started to become a constant headache.

It wasn't that he disliked the girl, not at all. He liked to spend time with her; actually it could be pretty entertaining.

It was just the fact that his spare time had been efficiently restrained into basically nothing as soon has the girl was placed with him and he could feel his temper rising by the day from the lack of freedom. Chiyume seemed to notice his temper, which in turn put her in a bad mood, a mood that, wordless or not, was unmistakably _female_.

It was an evil circle and it just kept going round and round.

He looked up at the blue sky and sighed. Oh, the things he wouldn't give to be able to head out to the forest with Akamaru right now and stretch his muscles out for a bit.

Depressed he realised that it had been more then three weeks since they had been able to train.

His entire body was itching from the lack of exercise and he could tell that it wouldn't take long until he completely hit emotional rock bottom.

As for today, he had taken her down town in a final attempt to keep her mind occupied. So far she seemed to be enjoying herself and it had given himself and Akamaru the opportunity to go for a walk as well.

He lowered his eyes from the sky and spotted Chiyume, who at the moment was standing with her nose pressed against the window to a bookshop, looking at the number of books in the display with big eyes.

He walked up to her but she didn't even grant him a glance.

"You wanna go inside?" he asked.

She nodded, and barely managed to tear her gaze away from the window long enough to follow him in through the door.

The bookstore in its size wasn't big, but it was packed from the floor to the ceiling with shelves and piles of books on every thinkable and unthinkable subject.

The shop owner was sitting behind a small counter by the door, reading a small pocket volume book and he nodded a greeting towards them as they entered.

Suddenly the girl by his side did some kind of happy little noise in the back of her throat and quickly moved down the single row of books, but instead of turning towards the shelf, she walked up behind a familiar, longhaired, ponytail wearing person that was standing at the end of the row paging through a small book.

At the last few meters she slowed down her steps and Kiba watched with an amused smile as she quietly sneaked up towards the unknowing Hyuuga.

She stopped almost directly behind him and then slantingly leaned in into the open space between his face and the book to look at the open pages, her body brushing ever so gently against his arm. Kiba noticed with a smirk that the raven boy made a startled jump but then he straightened up and moved the book away from her face and continued reading.

Even though her mood had been a bit off lately, she still enjoyed playing that little game with him.

Every time she saw the Hyuuga, she would sneak up behind him without as much as a sound and do something like that, just to get the pleasure of seeing him do those little twitches when she caught him of guard.

Neji wasn't exactly fond of the special attention he was receiving, but he never said anything, and he always tried to cover for his little slips by acting as if nothing had happened.

Kiba wondered how it came that Neji, being one of the best ninjas in Konoha, wasn't able to detect the presence of the girl when she came near him.

Neji was an expert in sensing people's chakra, so one would think that he shouldn't be that easy to sneak up on.

But then, on the other hand you couldn't expect him to be on his guard all of the time, and a bookshop wasn't exactly one of the places you expected to get pounced in.

Besides, Chiyume had a stealth ability that was simply out of this world. The floorboards inside the shop were old and creaky, but when she had crossed them there had not been as much as a hint of sound.

Kiba completely understood why Neji reacted the way he did to her sneaky assaults, and the fact that she always touched him at the same time couldn't possible make it easier for the uptight ninja.

Neji wasn't a physical contact-kind of person after all….

It was obvious however that she was doing it all on purpose, in a weird contradictious-friendship-bonding-kind of way.

She liked Neji and even if the other boy never would admit it, Kiba had a high suspicion that he liked Chiyume as well.

He watched with a snicker how the girl stood up on her toes and leisurely leaned over and rested her chin on Neji's shoulder, glancing down on the book again with a curious look before moving her gaze towards the teen's unsettled face. Neji's eyes flickered towards her, but he didn't make any comment.

It was almost cute.

He looked out the window at Akamaru who was sitting outside the shop, waiting for them to come back out and sighed. If he only could get some time off and go out, just for the afternoon…

Then he glanced over at the pair by the shelf and slowly an idea began taking form in his head and he grinned.

"Oi, Neji! Can I talk with you for a second...?"

-----------------

Neji sighed and bent down over the scroll on his desk, trying to focus on the words drifting around on the paper's surface.

Chiyume was sitting on the floor next to him, and she was staring at him, again.

She didn't say anything, didn't ask anything, she just sat there, and _stared_!

Damn that Kiba!

He should never have agreed to this, then he would have been able to study in peace.

As it was now he couldn't even concentrate a bit, not when she was looking at him like that. He _hated_ it when she looked at him like that, as if she was reading every single thought that passed through his mind. It made him feel uncomfortable. Vulnerable even.

He hated it.

He let his index finger follow the row of words, thinking that it might help him focus on the content of the text but it didn't help much. He was used to study by himself, alone with no one else around and to suddenly have another person watching his every move was turning out to be quite frustrating.

Five minutes of intense goggling later he gave up a strained sigh and turned away from the scroll to face the girl.

"Didn't you bring a book or something?" he asked as politely as he could muster.

Chiyume shook her head.

"Well, would you mind trying to find something else to do then?"

She looked around and spotted a stack of scrolls on the desk and reached out for one of them, but got stopped by Neji.

"No, you can't touch those. I need them."

She sighed and pulled her hand back.

Neji leaned back into the chair again, but as soon as he turned his eyes away Chiyume's hand darted out and grabbed the scroll.  
"Hey!"

He reached out to take it back but she hurried over to the large bed on the other side of the room and gave him a challenging look.

He sighed.

"Okay. Just be careful with it…"

He heard the girl undo the strap around the scroll and pull it open and let out a relieved breath when she quietly started reading the text, seemingly finding it interesting.

After ten minutes of peaceful studying, Neji suddenly felt a light tap on his shoulder and the unexpected touch made him do a startled twitch in his seat. He cursed inwardly.

Why did she always have to sneak up on him like that!?

"What?" he asked, trying to sound as if her sudden appearance was something he had expected.

She held up the scroll in front of him and pointed to a single word.

He looked at it and scowled.

"Jutsu?" he asked and looked at her.

She nodded and gave him an attentive look.

Neji sighed.

"A jutsu is a chakra-controlled technique used by ninjas. Jutsus are sorted into different categories depending on what they do, but all of them are designed and used for fighting."

He didn't know if "technique", "categories" and "design" were words Chiyume was familiar with, but she seemed to be happy with his answer and walked back to the bed and laid down on it again, holding the scroll up above her head and continued reading.

Neji went back to his studying and reached out for a new scroll. He made short notes on another scroll next to him while he read and soon he was completely swallowed up with what he was doing.

It was the faint sound of metal against metal that made his head shoot up from the scroll and turn around.

Chiyume was lying facing down on the bed with her head bent over the edge of the mattress. In her hands she held the entire set of kunais that he kept in his backpack in case of an emergency mission. The backpack itself was lying on the floor, wide open, and from the looks of it, she had gone through all of it before she found the knifes.

"No, put those back!"

He got up from the chair and quickly yanked the daggers away from her and put them back in the backpack, which he then resolutely shoved in underneath the bed.

"You'll hurt yourself."

She gave him an insulting snort through her nose and flung herself down on the bed with a slight pout on her lips.

He pretended not to see her little display of discontent and went back to his seat.

He could hear Chiyume shift around on the bed behind him and he quickly glanced back to see what she was up to this time, but she had only changed her position to lie on her stomach, facing away from him.

He returned to his documents.

Ten seconds later Chiyume moved again and his concentration was immediately scattered as he listened to hear any indication that the girl was touching his stuff again.

He didn't hear anything else and was just about to go back to reading when she moved again.

Looking back he saw that she was now lying on her back, facing the other end of the bed and as he watched her, she made a deep, depressing sigh and then rolled over to her stomach and gave him a nasty look.

She was bored.

He didn't bother meeting the gaze and turned around again.

The following ten minutes were then filled with the sounds of Chiyume shifting, turning, rolling and moving around on the bed and deep sighs that basically screamed at him that it was completely and utterly his fault that she was bored.

His grip around the pencil hardened and he closed his eyes, trying to shut the sounds out.

It seemed to work, because then she went silent.

He opened his eyes and continued to read.

Kiba, that bastard. He was going to get hell when he got back.

"_She won't be in the way, I promise. Usually she just walks of into a corner with a book or something. You'll have no problem studying, honestly. She's practically invisible!"_

He held back a low snort. Yeah, Kiba could consider himself lucky if he could _crawl_ home after Neji was finished him.

"At least she's being quiet now…" he muttered to himself and leaned forward to take up on his reading.

He had barely finished the sentence before there was a loud –_thud_– and something soft hit him in the back of his head.

He glanced down and saw one of the big pillows from his bed lying on the floor.

Ignoring it, he reached out for a new scroll and began reading, then…

_-Thud-_

He clenched his hand around the pencil and gritted his teeth.

_Calm… Just stay calm…_

He turned around and looked at the girl. She was sitting up now and when she met his glare she just raised a brow at him and tilted her head mockingly.

_What?_

He turned around again. If he ignored her maybe she would stop and leave him alone.

_-Thud-_

"Chiyume, I'm trying to study." He said slowly without turning around.

_-Thud-_

"Chiyume…"

_-Thud-_

He leaned down and roughly gathered up the pillows and began striding towards the bed to put them back.

"Listen, I won't tell you again, I need to study and I really don't have ti-_mpfh_!"

He got silenced promptly by a new pillow that hit him smack-smash in the face.

With an angry glare he threw the pillows in his arms at the bed and bent down to pick up the one that hit him, but as he did he got hit with one of the ones he had just given up straight across the head.

"Chiyume, stop it."

She tilted her head again and then aimed a new wham at him. This time he dodged the attack and managed to grab hold of the pillow.

"Chiyume, that's enough." He said with a lecturing voice.

She answered by leaning back, pulling the pillow with her. Her strength caught him completely of guard and he got pulled up on the bed and had to brace his knee against the mattress to stop himself from falling over.

"Let go!"

Chiyume leaned back even more, fully determined not to let go of the pillow.

Two of the other pillows got pushed over the edge and landed on the floor behind her.

Neji gritted his teeth. This was ridiculous! He was loosing a tug-of-war against a _girl_!

As if to emphasize the thought Chiyume did a new rough pull and forced him to grab hold of the pillow with his other hand as well.

No, he was not going to loose! This was his pillow, damn it!

By now Chiyume was leaned so much back that she was almost lying flat on her back with her head hanging over the edge of the bed. Then suddenly she smirked at him and let go of the pillow with one of her hands. For a second he thought that she had given up, but then she threw the arm back and grabbed one of the pillows from the floor and while pulling him sharply forward by the first pillow she whammed him hard across the head with the other one.

The hit against his head and the unsteady mattress underneath him made him momentarily loose his balance and he fell backwards.

There was a loud, rasping sound as the pillow they had been fighting over was torn in half and then a cloud of feathers filled Neji's vision as his end of the former bedding was flung towards the ceiling when he landed on his back on the bed.

He coughed out a mouthful of downs and barely had time to register Chiyume's pillow advancing down towards him before it hit him across the stomach.

He rolled away when Chiyume raised her arm to load up for a new blow and instinctively grabbed a pillow in the process. He parried her second attack with it and immediately took the chance to land a hit of his own across her midsection.

She responded with another aim at his head and he raised his arm to block it, but then the course of her arms changed and he got walloped straight across his chest.

Feathers swirled up around them as the pillows swung and thwacks, whams, smashes and bashes was delivered from both sides and slowly the corners of Neji's mouth began tilting upwards.

It was stupid, he knew that. It was childish and an action completely unworthy of a Hyuuga, but he couldn't help it.

Eventually he was grinning with his entire face and when he managed to land his first hit across Chiyume's head he let out a victorious "Ha!".

The sound of his own voice made him halt his movements and look as if he had just woken up from some kind of weird dream. The hesitation leaved him completely open and Chiyume wasn't late on taking up on the chance.

She raised her pillow and threw herself forward against him, ready to deliver the sideswipe of the century when Neji got hold of himself again and jumped out of the way.

With a surprised yelp Chiyume fell over the edge of the bed and landed on the floor, face first in a feathery pile with a loud _–thump–_. Neji raised his pillow to give her a final bash when a sudden unfamiliar sound reached his ears and he lowered the pillow.

She rolled over on her back and gave him a gleeful look and then she did it again.

She laughed.

Chiyume was _laughing_.

In that moment the door behind Neji opened up and a shy, timid voice came drifting in.

"N-Neji Nii-sama… Father wants to know if…"

Hinata cut herself off the moment her head peeked in through the door.

"W-what are you doing?" Hinata stared at her cousin who was standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by whirling feathers, grappling a pillow with both hands and with a sheepish expression plastered over his face.

Chiyume turned towards her with a big smile.

"Pillow no Jutsu!" she declared proudly and then she gave the Hyuuga prodigy another thwack over the head with the pillow. 

* * *


	11. The Strength of a Promise

**The Strength of a Promise**

Kiba groaned and turned in his sleep.

A light shiver travelled up his body and he drew the covers tighter around himself.

Why was it so cold?

He could hear Akamaru wince from across the room and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Ssh, boy. You'll wake up…" He broke himself off as he glanced at the pile of blankets beside the bed.

They were empty.

Akamru winced again and Kiba turned towards him.

The big dog was standing with his front paws on the windowsill looking out through the open window.

The open window.

Empty blankets.

Open window.

Slowly his sleepy brain processed the information, then his eyes widened and he darted of the bed and ran up to the window.

"Akamaru! Where's Chiyume?!"

Akamaru just kept looking out the window and laid his ears down sadly, wincing again.

"She left?!"

The moon outside was barely half-full and the little light it brought wasn't even enough to light up the small garden beneath the window.

Chiyume was nowhere to be seen.

Kiba cursed loudly and stumbled across the room, searching for his clothes.

"Why didn't you wake me up?!"

Akamaru whimpered and wagged his tail.

Kiba halted himself in the middle of pulling a shirt over his head.

"What do you mean she said that she'll be back?"

A short bark.

"She _promised_? It didn't occur to you that she could be lying to you?!"

Another bark with a lowering "moff" at the end.

"Don't give me that 'animals don't lie'-crap! She's half-human, she doesn't give a shit about that stuff!"

Completely dressed he jumped up on the windowsill.

"You stay here." He said harshly and then he jumped down onto the yard below and disappeared into the dark.

------------------

Neji's eyes shot up and he instinctively reached for the kunai underneath his bed.

-_tap_-_tap_-_tap_-

He scowled and halted his movement.

The sound was heard again.

An intruder tapping on the window? Not likely.

He got up and pulled away the dark curtains from the window and found himself staring straight at Kiba who was standing on the other side of the glass.

He opened up the window and the dog-nin almost threw himself inside and landed on the floor with the breath caught in his throat.

"Kiba, what…?"

"She's gone!"

"Who's gone?"

"Chiyume! She's gone! I've looked everywhere, but I can't find her!"

"What?!"

"You have to help me find her! She likes you, if you call her she'll show up for sure!"

Kiba was preparing to jump back out through the window before he had even finished the sentence, but Neji grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him back in.

"Calm down! What happened? Why is she gone?"

"I don't know, I woke up and then she was just gone. Akamaru let her go!"

"He _what_?"

Kiba threw his hands in innocence.

"I don't know why he did it! Something about a promise!"

The dog-ninja tugged at his hair with both hands and whimpered.

"Oh, Tsunade's going to kill me!"

Neji snorted.

"Hn, that is if Gaara doesn't get to you first…"

Kiba's eyes widened and he winced.

"Oh, stop it! Neji snarled.

"That's easy for you to say, you're not the one who's going to get buried alive in a tidal-sand-wave!"

"Well, if you would care to shut up for a moment maybe we could actually do something to prevent that from happening?"

He walked over to his closet.

"Or maybe you just want to stay here and feel sorry for yourself?" he added maliciously.

"Pipe it, Hyuuga!"

Neji ignored the comeback and concentrated on getting dressed.

Chiyume was gone?

Why would she leave?

Had she gone after Gaara and Naruto after all?

No, they had gone too far by now, even she would realize that she would never be able to catch up with them.

Did something happen at Kiba's?

He discarded the thought when he glanced at the other boy who was anxiously peering out thought the window, impatiently shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

If something had happened that the dog-nin knew anything about, he would have told him when he came scrambling in thought the window. Now was not the time to keep secrets from each other, they both knew that.

Neji buttoned up his robe and turned around.

"Where do we start?"

-----------------

"I followed her scent here, but this is as far as it goes."

Neji looked up at the flat surface in front of him. The main gate was only a couple of hundred meters to their left and they were standing by the city wall, where as Kiba had said, Chiyume's tracks, abruptly ended.

Had she gone over the wall?

Kiba looked at him.

"I know what you're thinking, but I don't think so. She would have needed to climb it somehow, and then her scent would have stuck to the fabric. But there isn't any."

He nodded towards the ground in front of him.

"It's as if she just vanished on the spot."

Kiba looked down to the place Kiba was referring. In the dirt there were clear prints of two naked feet.

Once again he raised his gaze to the crest of the wall.

She couldn't have…

"Byakugan."

He scanned the surroundings outside the village.

There was nothing.

He glanced at Kiba and shook his head desolately.

"She's gone. There's not a trace."

Kiba groaned and kicked the wall in frustration.

"Now what do we do?"

Neji sighed.

"There's no use in following her now. It's dark and there are only two of us. Besides, we have to tell Tsunade about this before we head out from the village."

"Then lets go!"

Neji raised a brow at the other boy.

"Do you really want to be the one to wake her up in the middle of the night with news like this?"

Kiba's vigour faltered immediately.

"Eh... Not really…"

Neji eyed the wall again.

"Lets go, it's not sure that she actually went over. If we keep searching by the wall we might pick up on her trail again."

Kiba nodded, though he still looked doubtful and they were off again.

They searched the entire wall, from one side of the village to the next. They searched the training grounds, the hospital, the academy, the market-place…

And they found nothing.

No scent, no tracks.

As the sun began peeking over the horizon it was a very discouraged pair that slowly made their way back to the Inuzuka district through the empty streets of Konoha.

"I guess we'll have to tell her then…"

The thought of a very angry Tsunade passed through Kiba's mind and he shuddered.

He had known that it would end like this. How could they have expected him to keep watch over her all the time by himself?

He had known it from the very beginning…

Neji didn't answer, though he knew the Inuzuka's words were not meant as a question to begin with.

The reached Kiba's house just when the first bird started to sing somewhere in the trees around them.

"You wanna stay for breakfast?"

Kiba didn't know Neji that well to be asking him in just like that, but since he had dragged the other teen up in the middle of the night to be a part of this fruitless hunt, he felt like he at least owed him _something_.

Neji shrugged but followed Kiba inside and shut the door behind him.

He turned around and almost walked straight into the other boy who had stopped dead in the hall.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"No way…" Kiba whispered.

The dog-nin sniffed the air and then suddenly he darted forwards and ran down the corridor.

Neji followed, not sure about what was going on.

Kiba sprinted through the hallway to his room and tore the door open.

There, on his bed, with Akamaru peacefully snoozing on her lap, as Chiyume.

She looked up when Kiba opened the door, her calm, green eyes meeting his and Kiba found himself frozen on the spot in the middle of the doorway.

"Kiba, what's going… on…?"

Neji stopped behind the other boy and his voice seemed to shrink away and die when he spotted the girl sitting on the bed.

For a moment there was a complete silence.

Kiba couldn't believe it.

She was here. She was back. Everything was fine.

Relief washed over him and he opened his mouth to speak.

Whatever he had planned to say went lost, because before he managed to form a single sound, Neji pushed by him and resolutely walked up to the bed.

He grabbed Chiyume by the arm and yanked her up so that she was facing him, his pale eyes flashing dangerously.

"Don't you ever do that again!" he yelled.

"Neji!" Kiba stared at him.

During the seconds that followed, Kiba saw more emotions flash across the Hyuugas face then he had seen during all the years he had known him.

The other boy looked as if he had a hard time deciding if he should be angry, relieved, happy or indifferent and his jaw line was working frantically, as if he was constantly on the verge of saying something but changed his mind at the last second.

Chiyume just looked up at him with the same calm face as before, not seeming to mind the hard grip the taller boy had around her arm.

The anger in Neji's eyes melted away when he met that tranquil gaze and slowly got replaced with relief.

He realised that he was still holding her and quickly let go, taking a step back.

"Sorry…"

He tried to look at her, but somehow his eyes only locked on the red bruising on her arm. Suddenly he felt incredibly stupid.

"Just… Don't run away like that again."

He turned around and hurriedly walked out the door. Kiba watched the teen disappear down the corridor and heard how the front door opened and closed when he left.

Apparently Kiba wasn't the only one who had been worried about Chiyume's disappearance.

He turned back towards the girl, who once again sat on the bed and had gone back to stroking Akamaru gently over the back.

His eyes settled on a pair of bare, _very _dirty feet which were doing very big, very _smudgy_ black stains on his white sheets.

Following the muddy trail from the bed to the window, which was now shut, he sighed. This would take forever to clean up.

He glanced at her again.

Not only did her feet look as if she had just run through every single water-puddle in Konoha, but she also had pieces of twigs and leaves in her hair and the hand that were stroking Akamaru's white fur were almost as dirty as her feet.

It seemed as if she actually had gone into the forest after all.

But how on earth did she get over the wall? She sure as hell didn't climb it.

He sighed again and walked up to the bed and sat down next to her.

Chiyume didn't look at him.

Kiba distantly felt a headache coming on and he tiredly pulled a hand over his face and sighed wearily.

"Why did you run away?"

She didn't answer.

"Where did you go?"

"Nowhere."

Her voice was distant, as if she wasn't really talking to him, or thinking of something else. But still, it was the first thing she had said to him since Gaara and Naruto had left, so he took it as a good sign.

"What did you do then?"

Her hand stilled and came to a rest on the big dog's shoulder blades.

"I wanted to see the moon."

It was barely a whisper.

"You could have seen it from the window."

"Not the same."

There was a new silence.

Kiba took a deep breath.

"You could have left. You went over the wall."

"Yes."

"Why didn't you?"

Chiyume lowered her head, her hair falling forward, draping around and hiding her face.

"I promised I would stay."

"Who? Gaara?"

She shook her head silently.

"No. Him."

She carefully scratched the big dog on her lap behind the ears. Akamaru raised his head and grinned at Kiba, the tongue dangling mockingly at him.

He glared at the dog.

"Not a word from you."

Akamaru snorted at him and Kiba rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"Was that the only reason you didn't leave?" he asked.

She shook her head again.

"No."

He waited for her to continue, but she didn't.

"Would you like to tell me?" he asked carefully.

She gently pushed Akamaru off of her lap and stood up and walked up to the window.

For a moment Kiba thought that she was going to leave again and he felt his heart race as panic struck him, but she didn't even touch the window.

She looked out through the glass, the rising sun giving her skin a golden shimmer.

For the first time Kiba realized how beautiful she was. He hadn't really thought about it before, but the fact was that she was, indeed, very beautiful.

He caught himself staring at her and quickly turned away when she turned her eyes towards him.

"What is home?" she asked suddenly.

"Home?"

He didn't quite understand that question.

She nodded.

"Eh… Well…I guess, home… Home is a place… a safe place. A safe place where you're always welcome. Where your friends and family are. I guess…" he ended lamely.

He didn't think he had explained it very well, but she seemed pleased with the answer and turned towards the window again.

"I never had home."

There was no longing in that voice. Nothing that indicated that she had any desire or wish to gain the thing she was speaking of, and somehow Kiba found that to be even worse then if she had cried it out loud and he cringed inside.

He stood up from the bed and walked up to her and placed both hands on her shoulder, spinning her around.

"Well, you have one now." He said firmly.

She looked at him, black-rimmed eyes that almost seemed to shimmer in gold and green in the light from the dawn and maybe something else that Kiba couldn't place and then she smiled.

"I know."

* * *

**Short chapter, I know. More like a filler actually.**

**Next chapter might contain material that are not meant for the faint of heart, so I just though I'd put that up. **

**Though, I don't believe that people that were faint of heart would have gotten this far in the story in the first place, but one can never be too sure.**

**Please review and tell me how you think I'm progressing. **

**Is it going to fast, to slow? Am I missing out on some things?**

**Any characters that needs modifying?**

**Please tell me!**

* * *


	12. Not About Me

**Chapter 11 – Not About Me**

Gaara and Naruto met up with Kankuro at the border between Fire and Rain. Gaara had sent his older brother a message before their departure from Konoha with a request that Kankuro would join them on the mission.

Kankuro was being his ordinary blunt self and Gaara didn't give him much of a greeting, but Naruto could tell that they weren't that displeased too see each other again.

After Kankuro gave Gaara a short update on the situation in the Wind country (Temari and the council was holding the stands in Gaara's absence), the three of them began the crossing through the Rain country.

When Kankuro had gotten the message about the mission he and Temari had done some investigations and discovered the maps of old caravan-tracks that were used by mercenaries in the past. They had also found records of which of these tracks that were known to had been used by people with less honest intentions like, let's say, slave-trading?

At first they had thought about following one of them through the Grass country, but then they would have to go over the mountains at the border, which would be vitally dangerous since the summers sun was melting the snow, causing the masses to slide down the peaks and form into hazardous avalanches.

That, and the fact that Gaara for some unknown reason insisted on that they had to go through Rain left no room for further discussions, so they decided to travel along one of the paths that were among the less frequently used, leading northwest towards the Earth country.

As they journeyed on, the lush woods that lined out the borders of the Fire country were slowly being replaced with feral coniferous forest that soon diluted into nothing. After a day's travel they were crossing plain after plain with vast, knee-long grass growing all around them.

Setting up camp for the night was easy and the many lakes and rivers of the landscape kept providing them with fresh water.

In all it was a pleasant and timesaving crossing, that was, up to the point when Gaara began recognising things.

It could be anything from a small tree growing by the road to a mountain rising itself in the distance, but for some reason he found that he had to stop, sometimes for only a minute, sometimes for hours, just looking, with a feeling in his chest as if he had forgotten something very important and that he had to remember it before they could journey on.

They took it as a good sign, since it obviously proved that they were heading in the right direction.

However, sometimes the memories that did come back weren't as good, and they hit with a force brute enough to rival any natural disaster in the world…

Like on the fourth day of their journey, when they came upon a rock lying by the side of the road.

It wasn't big, not much bigger then the head of a grown man and there seemed to be nothing remarkable about it at all.

Except for the fact that when Gaara spotted it, he abruptly turned around, took three composed steps away from the road, bent forward and hurled out into the long grass.

"Gaara!"

Both Naruto and Kankuro reached out to see what was wrong but Gaara managed to raise a shaky hand and wave them off.

His head was suddenly pounding like crazy and he could hear the sounds of screams and cruel laughter echo trough his mind.

Images flashed in front of his closed, teary eyes and what he saw almost made him want to throw up a second time.

A hand being held down and another raising the rock and slam it down, the sound of bones being crushed, a foot, a leg, an arm, faces, terrified screams, hair smeared out with blood across wide, unseeing eyes, brain substance mixed with crimson flowing from bash wounds in the back of countless sculls, cruel, evil laughter, screaming…

_Her. Sweet god, it could have been her…_

He took a deep, shaky breath and clenched his teeth shut.

He had seen blood before, he had heard screams not unlike the ones he had just heard, he had caused them himself numerous times, but this… At least he had done it quickly…

"Gaara…?"

Gaara straightened up and turned around, avoiding the rock with every inch of self-control his soul could muster and instead locked his gaze on the blonde in front of him.

"They used to stop here." He said slowly and gestured towards the terrible tool lying in front of them.

"They picked a slave, dragged him out of the wagon and used that rock to crush every bone in his body before bashing the head in. A warning to the others to behave and do as they were told."

Naruto stared at him and Gaara saw how those blue eyes widened when the meaning of what he had just said hit the other boy like a ton of bricks.

He opened his mouth to say something but Gaara cut him off.

"They did it every time they passed this place."

Naruto's jaw shut with an audible click of his teeth.

"The bodies got thrown into the grass. The scavengers took care of them, but I think there are still bones scattered around here."

Kankuro looked at his little brother, understanding what it was that allowed Gaara to know such a thing.

"How many times did she see it?"

Gaara shook his head.

"I don't know, many times. It's blurry, so it's hard to tell the times from one another."

The red haired boy took another breath before he turned around and continued down the road. He wanted to get away from this place; the mere knowledge of that it existed made him sick.

Kankuro and Naruto followed in silence.

As they walked past the rock Naruto couldn't help but to throw a glance at it.

It was angular shaped, covered with sharp points and edges. The surface had a dark, almost rust-like colour from what he now knew was blood that had seeped deep into the pores, merging with the stone to the point that no rain in the world would ever be able to wash it away.

He turned his head away in disgust, balling his hands into fists at his sides.

---------------

A week later they entered the Earth country.

The summer heat was not as scorching here and during the nights a cool breeze blew across the landscape.

The few villages they passed along the way were small and sometimes even petty.

Some were not more then a few houses bundled up close together, flickering lights desperately trying to shut out the darkness of the night.

For a week they travelled around, but found no leads of the location of Chiyume's native village.

They also found that the subject of "slave trading" was not received excessively fondly in conversations.

As soon as they asked anything about it or as much as mentioned the topic, people would just turn and walk away. Some went as far as to threaten them and as the time passed, the three of them started to fear that the chances of finding Chiyume's origin were closer to zero then anything else.

When they arrived at this, their current village, they decided to just keep a low profile for a while and listen, since questions didn't seem to get them anywhere.

Maybe this time they would get lucky and pick up something useful.

---------------

The bar was murky and dark, and perhaps not the cleanest one in history, with a damp smell of tobacco and sake hanging thick in the air, but it would have to do.

The three ninjas made their way to the bar and took a seat.

For safety's sake they had all removed their forehead protectors, but they still managed to get a couple of suspicious glares when they entered the room.

Kankuro and Gaara fitted the scenery well enough, even though they were young, but Naruto on the other hand had a bit too much of a "good-guy"-aura around him then what was desirable.

"Kankuro, exactly what is this place?" The blonde whispered with a nervous glance over his shoulder.

"Rumours have it that this is the place to go when you have business you don't want any officials to know about. If we're going to find out anything, this is the best place to start."

Gaara nodded, hardly noticeable and glanced around the room.

The guests here sure looked foul enough to be capable of any crime or swindle.

There was a group of shaggy people playing some sort of card game by a near table and on their left in a small recess were two other men sitting and discussing something, casting calculating glares at each other, one hand underneath the surface of the table, as if they were both grasping each dagger, ready to stab the other if he did a single suspicious move.

In another alcove was another man sitting with each of his arms heavily draped around two young girls, all three seemingly very drunk, an assumption that soon proved itself completely wrong.

Gaara watched as one of the girls leaned in and gave the man a hungry kiss on the lips while the other girl quickly reached into his pocket. There was a hardly noticeable chime of money being poured out of its container and then the girl tucked something into an opening in her dress before turning back to the man with a big, fake smile.

Gaara guessed that the man would probably get very upset the morning after, once he realised that he had been robbed, but on the other hand he only had himself to blame.

Yes, if you were looking for illegal business, this was probably the place to go.

They ordered three sake from the bartender and they weren't at all surprised that he didn't ask about their age.

Naruto didn't really like sake, but there weren't much else to choose from and asking for a glass of water in a place like this would be plain stupid, even he could figure that out.

He took the cup and swallowed half of it in one gulp, trying to ignore the bitter taste when it went down his throat.

Kankuro followed his example and emptied his glass, though he immediately ordered a new one. When the bartender came with the drink, Kankuro leaned over and began talking to him in a low voice while sliding a couple of coins over the counter.

Gaara watched the bartender give his brother a look and then the money was gone and the man refilled Kankuro's cup for the second time.

Taking that as a sign that it was okay to relax somewhat Gaara raised his own cup of sake to drink.

"Get a move on and deal already! I don't have all night!"

Gaara's hand froze, the cup only a kiss' width away from his lips, slightly tilted.

That voice…

He knew that voice…

Cold chills ran along his back and his heart pounded hard inside his chest.

Slowly he turned around and spotted the large, bearded man sitting at the card game-table.

A long scar ran from the corner of the man's left eye down across his cheek and Gaara's heart skipped several beats when those dark eyes momentarily connected with his own.

Him…

Gaara turned around again and tried to suppress the adrenaline that shot up through his body when the memories of Chiyume's childhood began to play through his head.

_Him_…

Naruto who had been watching Kankuro's progress with the bartender turned around when he heard a low growl emit from Gaara's throat.

"What's the matter?"

Kankuro interrupted his conversation with the bartender and looked at his brother.

Something was wrong.

"It's him…"

Kankuro leaned in closer at the sound of Gaara's voice.

"Who?"

"The slave trader that took Chiyume."

Kankuro glanced back at the table.

"Are you sure?"

Naruto also looked back and gritted his teeth.

"You mean that's the same bastard who…?"

"Yes."

Gaara's voice was suddenly completely steady and when Naruto looked at him he felt as if a cold hand had reached into his chest and clutched around his heart.

For what he saw wasn't his friend, Gaara the Kazekage. He saw the same Gaara that he had met during the chuunin exams three years ago.

The same unemotional face, the same cold stance and, the thing that scared him the most, the same glacial, raging eyes.

He swallowed hard when Gaara suddenly stood up.

"Gaara…?"

"You two should get moving. I'll catch up later." Then he left the bar without another word.

Naruto looked at Kankuro.

"What's he going to do? And what does that mean; 'get moving'?"

Kankuro stared at the door that Gaara had disappeared through, then he quickly emptied his sake and got up from the chair.

"It means we're leaving town. Now."

---------------

The man exited the bar two hours later. Gaara watched him leave from a roof nearby.

The man didn't seem to be affected by any alcohol, and coming to think of it, Gaara had not seen him drink anything at the bar.

Which also suited him perfectly. He wanted that man's senses to be sharp and completely sober for this.

The man walked down the main street for one or two blocks before turning off and onto a side street, heading deeper into town.

Gaara jumped off of the roof and followed in silence.

The night was clear and a bit chilly, though there was no wind and the streets lay deserted and empty due to the late hour.

The further they went the narrower and windingly the streets became. The walls of the houses they passed were worn and wretched, lined with litter and wastes, supposedly from the grime taverns and whorehouses lying around.

A woman standing in a doorway, seemingly not older then his own sister, gave Gaara a flirtatious wink, marred only by the fact that she was swaying dangerously and wasn't able to focus her gaze on him. She held a bottle in her left hand and she gestured towards him with it, spilling it's content on the ground.

"Hey, sweetie." She slurred. "You wanna come in and have some fun?"

Gaara walked passed her, ignoring her even though she reached out to touch him.

When he didn't respond she threw the bottle on the ground with a loud sob before turning around and staggering back into the house.

"Asshole!" she muttered before slamming the door shut.

Gaara kept his eyes on the man in front of him, making sure he didn't get to close to be heard, but close enough to watch every single move the man made.

He hadn't changed much. The hair and the beard had gotten a few grey strands in them, but apart from that he still looked the same.

The same arrogant walk, as if the entire world was bowing and making way for him.

That walk annoyed Gaara to no end. Not that it would matter for long...

Eventually the man walked into an alley that widened out into a small clearing between the houses, lightened only by the pale illumination from the moon, before leading on into another side street.

That's when Gaara decided that it was time to take action. However, there were some things he needed to know first. There were some things he needed to _hear_…

He stepped out from the shadows of the alley they had just left, not bothering to conceal the sounds of his footsteps anymore and the slave trader spun around, a bit startled from the sudden noise.

"Who are you?" he snarled.

"You should be more interested in what I want." Gaara answered coldly, noticing how the man relaxed a little. Apparently his choice of words had been right.

"I see. Then what is it that you want?"

"I heard that you were the man to talk to if one was looking to buy someone."

The man scowled.

"You mean a slave? Sorry, kid, I don't do that stuff anymore."

"I was told you were the best."

Shaking his head the man turned around to walk away.

"Sorry, I can't help you."

"Name your price."

The man stopped.

Inside, Gaara loathed at the sight of greed shining in those black eyes that were once again turned towards him.

"I assure you, payment won't be a problem." He continued.

The man scratched his chin.

"Well… I guess I could try and arrange something… for a reasonable compensation." He added smugly.

"Of course." Gaara's voice was as calm as ever, though his entire body was aching to stab those disgusting pig's eyes out with the bluntest object he cold get his hands on.

The man gave him a businesslike smile and straightened up.

"In that case… What did you have in mind? A servant? Workforce? Or perhaps a female companion?"

"A child."

"Boy or girl?"

"Doesn't matter."

The man hinged a brow.  
"May I ask for what use?"

Gaara gave him a blunt look.

"Ah, so you swing that way, huh?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, no. I understand completely."

"Really."

"Yes. I can't say I blame you. They are pretty intriguing. Innocent and stupid. You can trick them into doing almost anything and they won't even understand what's going on. Very handy indeed..."

"Is that so…?"

The sand was up in less then a second and it slammed the slave trader up against the nearest wall with an iron grip around his throat.

Gaara's voice held the same amount of warmth as a blizzard when he stepped up to the man.

"You sicken me…"

The man stared at him dumbly and Gaara fought back the urge to end the creep right then and there.

"How many?" he hissed.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about..:"

The grip around his neck tightened, and he let out a gurgling shriek.

"Yes you do."

"I swear! I-I never…!"

"Shut up." Gaara growled.

"What is it to you anyway?" the man suddenly snarled. "What did I ever do to you?"

"It's not about me."

The sand flowing out of his gourd to the mans neck suddenly began changing it's form, turning into an arm, an upper body, legs and eventually a face.

"It's about her."

The slave trader stared into a pair of green, hate-filled eyes belonging to the sandclone in front of him, bestial reflections of Gaara's own as he stood behind her.

Gaara didn't know if the man would recognize Chiyume the way she looked nowadays, but the sight of her eyes seemed to be enough to awaken his memories.

His eyes widened and his struggling against the hand that now held him against the wall become more frantic, his nails clawing bloodless wounds in the sand of the arm's surface.

"No…She…She's…"

The Chiyume sandclone smirked and glanced back at Gaara.

"I have some questions for you." The man's gaze flickered from Chiyume's face to Gaara's, staring at him as if he was the devil himself. Gaara judged the attention to be sufficient enough.

"Where did you find her?"

"F-find who?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously and the sandclone mirrored his actions.

"Let me make it clear to you that the only reason you're still alive is because you have information that I want. I will ask you again; where did you find her?"

"A… A village… Two days march from here."

Gaara raised his arm, Chiyume doing the same.

"To the west! Two days to the west! B-but you won't find anything there now!"

"Why not?"

The man gulped and his eyes once again locked on Chiyume's. Cold sweat was dripping down his face.

"W-we burned it."

"Why didn't they rebuild it?"

"Only a fool would go there. The place is haunted."

"Haunted?"

Gaara's interest in the subject seemed to loosen the man's tongue, a hope flaring that if he told him enough, he would be free to go.

"Yes, haunted!" he exclaimed. "The entire village was filled with witches and warlocks. T-that's why we went there in the first place. No one would miss them if they were gone. People were afraid to go there. They said that those people… _knew_ things. They could just look at you and then they _knew_ things about you that no one else could possibly know. They could read your mind by just looking into your eyes! They were allied with hell itself! We did the world a favour when we got rid of them I tell you!"

He looked at Gaara, almost pleading him to understand.

Gaara felt sick to his stomach.

The sand around Chiyume's body began swirling, rising up and wrap itself around the man's body.

"W-what are you doing?! I-I told you everything!"

"Exactly. I have no further use of you."

"No!

Gaara raised his hand, the palm facing the terrified man in front of him, fingers spread widely.

"The girl! I can take you to the girl!"

His lie was desperate and painfully obvious, even if Gaara had not known where Chiyume was, and it only managed to trigger of his anger even more.

The sand that had been preparing for the Sabaku Sousou pulled back and instead Chiyume reached out her hand and grabbed the slave trader's own.

"You don't have the right to mention her."

Chiyume took hold of the man's index finger and began pulling at it slowly.

"How many times did you rape her?" Gaara asked harshly.

"I-I didn't… I don't know what…!" The man's eyes were wide in horror as he stared at what the sandclone was doing.

Gaara looked at him.

"If you tell a lie like that again and I'll tare your body into pieces, bit by bit."

"N-no! I swear! I haven't done anything wrong!"

Chiyume smirked and with a disgusting wet sound she ripped off the finger from the hand.

The man opened his mouth to scream, but sand streamed up and lowered itself over his mouth, muting every sound.

The sandclone held up the severed finger in front of his face. A bloody bone pipe was sticking out of the flesh and blood trickled down its surface.

With a nonchalant snort Chiyume tossed it to the ground and grabbed the hand by the wrist.

"You burned her home."

With a twist of her hand, Chiyume snapped the bone and then she tore the limb off, as easy as a kid would tear the leaf of a branch, and the man screamed again, though not a sound was able to penetrate the thick composition of Gaara's sand.

"You killed her family."

The other arm was mercilessly disposed of and thrown at the ground.

"You locked her in a cage."

Sand crept up and crushed both of the man's legs and then separated them from the thighbone, the only think now holding his stumped body up being Chiyume's hand around his throat.

"You…"

By now the man was already loosing consciousness from the pain and loss of blood, but his eyes widened and he whimpered when Gaara stepped up beside the sandclone and leaned in closer to his face.

"You did the most unforgivable thing anyone could possibly do to another human being." He hissed through gritted teeth. "You are the most detestable creature imaginable and the fact that you still walk this earth is nothing but an abomination that I intend to end."

He pulled back and raised his hand.

"Your existence ends here."

The man stared at him and slowly tears began to form in his eyes and a muffled sob was heard.

Chiyume's hand rose into the same position as Gaara's and sand began swirling around it, creating a drill wider then her arm, the singing sound of sand and grit grinding against each other whispering in the darkness.

The clone positioned the drill in front of the man's heaving chest and Gaara extended the sand around his throat to tilt his head upwards to look at him.

"Know this." He said slowly, the ice in his voice creating a freezing edge around every word. "You got lucky that I found you first. Had it been her, things wouldn't have gone this easy."

The hand thrusted into the man's chest and there was a cracking sound as it crushed the ribcage and another, splattering one when it exited through the back.

The slave trader's body shook convulsive and then a quiet sigh was breathed out through his nose when the drill was pulled back out.

The clone slowly dissolved and the lifeless, blood ragged body slid down onto the wet ground as the sand returned back into the gourd.

Gaara watched the blood seep from the corpse and onto the ground, winding itself between filth and trash in thin crimson streams.

It was over.

It was done.

Then the insight of what he had just committed suddenly lowered itself over him like a thick, suffocating blanket and his head started spinning. He staggered across the clearing and leaned against the opposite wall, his heart racing in his chest and his breath hitched in his throat.

He had forgotten.

It had been so long.

He hadn't killed in such a long time.

How could he possibly have enjoyed things like this before?

His body was shaking and it took all of his self-control just to keep his eyes open. If he closed them he was sure that he would faint on the spot.

A sudden noise from one of the houses brought him back to reality and he straightened up.

He couldn't stay here, he had to move.

He didn't know how, but somehow he managed to get out of the alley and out of town, and he kept the image of Chiyume's face in front of him all the way.

What he had done disgusted him. It was too much like what he used to be, too much like the monster he had worked so hard to get away from.

The memories kept playing in his head, some of them his own and some of them not, memories of blood, screams, words, pain, eyes, all swirling around in a mental hurricane inside his head and he had to stop several times to gather his thoughts enough to continue.

It was as if what he had done had triggered something inside his head and he started remembering new things that he had not been able to see before.

The things he had done to her, the pain he had put her through, Gaara couldn't understand how she could possibly have stayed sane.

All those years…

The moonlight shone brightly in the night sky as Gaara stumbled out on the field outside the village.

His head was still spinning and every step he took made his legs feel as if they were being weighed down with led.

When the houses were only a distant oasis of small insignificant lights gleaming behind him he stopped and finally let his aching body sink down onto his knees.

His upper body slumped onto the ground and he welcomed the soothing feeling of moisture that the dew-covered grass gave to his skin.

He had done it for her.

It was over.

Collapsing onto the ground he closed his eyes, for a moment relishing in the darkness that followed and took a shivering breath before letting go, finally letting the tears that had been burning behind his eyelids silently stream down his face.

---------------

Chiyume gasped and sat up from her blankets.

The moon shone in through the open window of Kiba's room and she could hear the calm, steady breaths of the boy and his big dog drifting from the bed beside her.

Her body was coated in sweat and she was shaking.

She had been dreaming.

And…

She looked down on the closed fist that she held clutched against her pounding chest and slowly held it out in front of her, uncurling her fingers.

A handful of sand fell whispering to the floor and as she watched, the warm night-breeze swept it up and carried it out the window and out into the night.

* * *

**Everything will be explained in due time, I promise.**

**Until then, please leave a review and inspire me to keep going, k? grin**

* * *


	13. Family

**Family**

"She's different."

Neji's voice was low, and he didn't look at Kiba as he walked beside him down the street.

Kiba nodded.

"She was sitting by the window again this morning. She didn't say anything when I talked to her, but... I mean, look at her."

Neji glanced back at the girl walking behind them, holding on to Akamaru's fur like a child holding on to their mother's hand.

Five days ago she had been almost uncommunicatable, staring down at the ground wherever she went, not seeming to care what was going on around her.

Two days ago she ran away, only to reappear in Kiba's room at the break of dawn, still completely abstracted.

He looked down at the girl's arm. He could see the faint contours of the bruise his hand had left there through the fishnet-fabric.

He still felt incredibly stupid for letting his feelings take over like that back then. Even though he had been tired, that alone wasn't excuse enough. He was a ninja; he should be able to control himself better!

Chiyume hadn't said or done anything about it though. It was almost as if she had forgotten the whole thing.

His eyes travelled up to her face.

Kiba was right, she was different today.

Her head was lifted, her back straight and the look she gave him when she saw that he was looking at her was clear and accompanied with a playful tilt of the head.

He turned back with a faint smile.

"I'd say that she seems..."

"Happy." Kiba interrupted him. "She looks happy."  
The dog-nin snickered.

"You know, she actually played with Akamaru this morning. Pounced him in the hallway after breakfast." He smiled. "It was like watching a pair of puppies."

Neji nodded, feeling relieved at the sight of the other boy's smile.

Chiyume's apathetic state had been acting like a weight on Kiba's shoulders and seeing him smile again was just as reassuring as having Chiyume ambushing him.

Or, on a second thought, Kiba's smile topped the ambushing...

He couldn't help but to wonder what it was that had caused the sudden mood shift, but neither he nor Kiba or any of the others could come up with an explanation.

Perhaps it had something to do with the moon. She had been a bit obsessed over it lately.

Or it could just as well be one of those woman-things, what did he know.

They turned around a corner and walked out onto the main street.

Then all of a sudden they heard a low growl behind them and turned around.

Chiyume had frozen dead in the street and her eyes were locked on something up ahead of them, her lips curled up, showing her teeth.

"Chiyume, what's...?"

Before Kiba managed to finish the question the two boys were grabbed and pulled back around the corner which they had emerged from and roughly pushed back up against the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Neji hissed and took a step forward but Chiyume placed herself in his way. Then she turned and peered around the corner of the wall.

Neji was about to open his mouth again but Kiba grabbed his shoulder, looking down at the girl crouching on the ground.

"What's the matter?" he asked quietly.

Her muscles were tensed and he could see her nails dig hardly into the fabric of the wall she was leaning against. Her eyes were fixed on whatever it was that she was looking at and Kiba caught a slight tremble travel through her body.

The posture reminded him all to well of the first time he had met her at the hospital when she had curled up on the bed, hissing at him.

Whatever the thing down the road was, the girl was terrified of it.

Neji followed Kiba's gaze to the girl and back again.

"What's going on?"

"Him." Chiyume hissed.

The two boys looked at each other.

"Who 'him'?"

"The dead man."

When none of them answered she glanced at Neji.

"You don't see?" She turned her head at Kiba, looking at him doubtingly. "You can't smell?"

Kiba scowled but Neji walked up beside the girl and closed his eyes for a moment before slowly releasing his chakra, opening his eyes and pierce his gaze through the wall and out on the street.

He spotted him almost immediately.

A tall man dressed in a black cloak-looking outfit.

Underneath the hood he had a pale face with sculptured features and he was currently talking to a couple of men outside of a restaurant.

Outwards he looked like any other person, but it was not his looks that caught the Hyuuga's attention.

As Neji deepened the force of his byakugan he first thought that something was wrong with it, but then Chiyume's words connected with the sight before him and he almost gasped out loud.

The man was dead.

There were no signs of life in his body whatsoever. No chakra, no blood, no pulse, nothing.

The body was there, the organs, the flesh and bones, but otherwise it was completely empty.

"He's..."

"Not human."

He retracted the byakugan and studied the girl at his feet.

"Do you know him?"

"Who is he?"

Kiba peered around the corner as well.

"Hunter." Chiyume almost spit the word out, eyes flaming dangerously. Neji sighed.

"I guess we don't have to ask if he's dangerous then."

Kiba looked down at her.

"Hunter? What's he hunting?"

"Prey." Came the monotonous answer.

Kiba and Neji looked at each other again.

"You want to take a closer look?"

Neji nodded.

"We'll just walk pass him and come back here afterwards. I want to check something."

He looked at Chiyume.

"You stay here until we get back."

Together they walked out onto the street, heading down in the direction of the stranger.

Chiyume was about to follow, to hold them back or go with them couldn't be told for certain, but Akamaru stepped in her way, stopping her. For a moment she looked as if she was about to protest, but then she silently slipped back, leaning against the wall.

The two ninjas got closer to the mysterious man when the wind changed its course and came sweeping towards them. Kiba frowned when he felt a heavy, sickening sweet smell flush over him, leaving a metallic taste at the back of his tongue.

_He smells like blood._

He looked at Neji, but the other teen didn't show any signs of that he could smell anything.

Inuzukas had a highly developed sense of smell, so there was no wonder that Kiba could smell it faster then the Hyuuga.

But then, what kind of senses did Chiyume have, who managed to smell him out from so far away when Kiba himself had felt nothing...

They approached the figure casually, strolling down the street as if they were just a pair of friends out for a walk, heading somewhere undecided. There was nothing suspicious about them whatsoever.

They had almost reached al the way when the wind that had been blowing toward them suddenly shifted again, blowing in the opposite direction.

The man's head snapped up, a sniffing sound was heard and then he turned at them. Their eyes locked and at the next moment two kunais came flying through the air towards them.

They jumped out of their way and barely managed to catch a glimpse of glistening black eyes and gritted teeth before the man swirled around and darted down the street.

"Shit!" Kiba cursed and ran after him, closely followed by Neji.

Neji had no idea of who this guy was, but anyone who came into Konoha and started throwing kunais around at random people was not going to get away just like that.

The pursuit led them over rooftops and through alleys and backyards.

Their target turned out to be much faster then they had expected and they found that they both had to work quite hard to be able to keep up. There was no time to call for any sort of backup, if they did they would loose him in no time and there were no guarantees that they would be able to find him again.

The man suddenly did a throw to the right and moved away from the main parts of the village and headed towards the outskirts were the farms and fields were.

"He's going for more space!" Kiba growled.

Neji understood. There would be a fight as soon as the man had found a setting that fitted him, giving him the advantage.

He scowled. Something didn't feel right about this.

Their target was moving fast, but not fast enough to make them loose track of him. And at the same time it didn't seem as if he had reached his limits yet. It was almost as if he wanted them to follow him.

By now the village was behind them and they were running across a large rice field with water from the irrigation furrows splashing up around their feet and as if on cue, the man stopped and swirled around to face them.

Neji and Kiba halted, keeping their distance to the cloaked stranger.

"Who are you?" Neji demanded.

The man in front of them only gave a low chuckle in response.

"What's so funny?" Kiba growled, reaching for his kunais.

The man chuckled again, seemingly amused.

"Stupid brats... You chased after me without even asking her such a basic question?"

Neji scowled.

"Her?" he asked, sending a quick glance at Kiba, telling him to shut up.

"Don't try to act oblivious with me. Her stench is all over you."

The figure made the sniffing sound again.

"You both reek of her." He said with a disgusted snarl.

Kiba and Neji exchanged looks.

"What do you want?" Neji asked warily.

The man snorted.

"There's no point in telling you. You won't live long enough to have any use of it."

"Then there's no point in not telling us either, is there?" Kiba quickly replied.

The man chuckled again and Kiba felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. There was something horribly wrong with that laughter. Sick and distorted.

Mad.

"You're quite smart for a mutt." He looked at Kiba and then he shrugged. "Well, I guess I could tell you. That way I might get to have some fun with you as well."

The mocking tone in his voice suddenly disappeared and his eyes drilled into Kiba's.

"Where's the girl?"

"You've got to be mad if you think we'll tell you just like that."

"Don't act so heroic, mutt! She's nearby, I can sense her. Now where is she?"

Neji let his eyes drift around them. There were no signs that indicated that Chiyume would be close and he didn't want to turn on his byakugan to check in case the man took it as a sign of attack.

Besides, he had told Chiyume to stay put back in town.

Though... that girl had never been good at doing what she was told...

"We don't know where she is." He said calmly.

The man growled.

"Fine. Then I'll force her out myself."

Then suddenly he leaped forward and aimed a swing at Neji, but he had been excepting such a thing and avoided it easily, immediately hitting the man at the nape of the neck with a chakra-enforced hand.

That blow would have been enough to black out any ninja in Konoha, clean and perfectly hit, but the man only straightened up and slowly turned around.

_Damn it, I forgot. There's no chakra!_

He barely had time to sense the smirk coming from underneath that hood and then he was hit with a new attack that missed him with less than an inch to spare.

He jumped backwards and at the same time dug up three shurikens from his weapon-pouch which he threw at the man the same moment his feet connected with the ground.

The projectiles hit him straight in the chest, but it didn't even slow his movements down.

With an annoyed gesture the man raised a hand and tore them out and sent them flying back against Neji.

No blood.

"Neji, what the fuck is that thing?!"

Kiba aimed a kick against the man's head, but he grabbed the dog-nin by the ankle and threw him down on the ground.

Kiba's left shoulder collided heavily with the earth and Neji heard the sharp snap when the bone was broken. Kiba screamed and clutched his hand around the upper arm, grimacing from the sudden pain.

"Kiba!"

Neji lashed forward, preparing a strike with his hakken to get past the enemy to see to his fallen friend, but in the blink of an eye the man was in front of him and cold, grim fingers was wrapped around his throat.

"Enough playing." He smirked. The grip hardened and Neji's own fingers curled around the arm holding him captive.

Kiba staggered to his feet and threw a kunai with his healthy arm. It was a clean throw and it would have hit the man straight in the head, but he just reached out and grabbed it with his free hand, as easy as a kid catches a ball.

He pointed the kunai against Neji's face, the tip only an inch away from the Hyuuga's right eye.

"Call her out." He commanded Kiba. "Or your friend will spend the rest of his life in darkness."

Kiba stared at him.

What was he supposed to do?

Chiyume was nowhere to be seen, how would he be able to call her out?

He looked at Neji, silently asking what he should do, but Neji was just looking at the weapon directed at him.

Who was this guy?

Kiba was a chuunin and Neji himself was jounin and still they had been thrown around like a pair of ragdolls!

He had been toying with them from the start. The only reason he wanted them to come out here was so that they wouldn't get interrupted while he pressured them for an answer.

So that he could get to Chiyume.

"Don't say anything, Kiba."

"But...!"

"No! He's going to kill us anyway."

Kiba shut his mouth and the man glared at Neji.

"Very well..."

He pulled the kunai back, a bloodthirsty grin spreading across his face.

Neji could hear Kiba scream something, but ha couldn't define the words and as the dark metal filled up his vision, innumerable thoughts ran through his head, all staring with the two acrid words; "_If only..."_

Then Chiyume was there.

The kunai was sent flying through the air and the man hissed and pulled his bleeding hand back, releasing his grip around Neji to clutch around the wound.

Neji fell to the ground with tearing eyes, coughing and gasping for breath.

Chiyume growled and placed herself between the fallen boy and the man, crouching down like a tiger before the leap.

When Neji finally managed to get his breathing back under control and stand to his feet, she turned her head to the side and glanced back at him.

_Oh my God her eyes._

They were not the warm green ones that Neji had seen all this time. Instead there were golden yellow with pupils like two thin, vertical slits that seemed to contain all the malicious darkness in the world.

Her right hand was dripping from blood and Neji saw five long claws stretching out from where her fingernails should have been.

_What's happening to her?_

The man in front of them straightened up and again he let out that rabid laughter.

"I see. So you actually care about that little rat?"

Chiyume hissed and dug her feet down into the earth.

In the corner of his eyes Neji saw Akamaru walk up to Kiba and give him a quick lick on the hand before he gritted his teeth against the enemy.

Neji's attention returned to other two as the man suddenly spoke.

"Kabuto-sama has an offering for you, Kitten. If you come back willingly nothing will happen to the village, or the people in it."

He made a small throw with his head in Neji's direction.

"He might even spare that trash for you as well if you ask nicely."

_Kabuto._

_That means this guy's working for Orochimaru._

He looked up at Chiyume. She was glaring at the man with gritted teeth and she showed no intentions to go along with the offer.

"What's it gonna be, Kit?"

Her eyes drifted to Neji once more, then to Kiba and Akamaru and the look she gave the man afterwards almost made Neji's heart freeze.

"Go away." She growled. "Or I kill you."

Again, the cloaked figure in front of them laughed.

The next moment he appeared next to Chiyume and sent his fist flying towards her head.

Chiyume reacted in a split second.

With a leap forward she avoided the strike, landed on the ground, spun around and dashed out again. As she darted past him five claws gleamed as they were thrusted our and ripped up a massive wound in the man's side just the below the ribcage, a thick stream of blood flushing out, wetting the black cloak.

Neji saw it all happen and slowly it kicked in.

He was bleeding.

_But..._

Neji remembered how the man had ripped out the shurikens from his chest before without spilling a single drop of blood. Why was he bleeding now?

The man hissed and swirled around to deliver a new punch at Chiyume.

This time it brushed past her check, the wind from its sheer force causing her hair to flutter.

Chiyume crouched down and twisted her hand; palm facing up and then she jumped up and ripped the hood covering the man's face into shreds, missing his skin with a hairs width.

The man turned around so that his face came into Neji's view and for a moment the only thought that existed in Neji's head was; _Sweet Mother of God what is that thing?_

The human face he had seen with his byakugan was gone. Instead he found himself staring into a face so completely distorted and twisted that it barely earned the right to be called a face at all.

A pair of small, glistening black eyes was embedded in a mass of reddened meat. Two long fangs were sticking out from a wide horizontal opening in the middle of the face with other, smaller teeth spread out in what seemed to be a random pattern surrounding them.

And now he could smell it.

The stale smells of blood, the clammy, sickening odour of rotting meet...

This guy really was dead, and the blood running from those wounds were just from bladders of rotten fluids gathered from that walking corpse that served as his body.

A genjutsu. An illusion.

_Why didn't I see it?_

The thing in front of him let out another growl and dashed out toward Chiyume again.

Chiyume braced her self for the approaching attack, but at the final second the beast changed its course completely and instead barged straight at Neji.

"Neji, watch out!" Kiba yelled, but it was too late.

The creature grabbed hold of Neji and lifted him up with a sudden inhuman strength and with a devilish grin at Chiyume he buried his fangs in the boy's side.

White, burning pain shot up through Neji's body and he opened his mouth to scream, but then a new wave hit him when the creature pulled the fangs out and the scream choked in his throat as the world around him went blank.

Kiba watched the hideous thing hurl Neji's unconscious body aside.

"Trash." It grinned and the mad chuckle was heard again, bubbles forming at its lips from Neji's blood, sliding down and dripping against the cloak.

Neji's body hit the ground only a few feet away from the main irrigation canal, which reminded more of a small river then a canal, and then slowly rolled over to lay still with his hand dangling over the edge and into the streaming water.

Then there was another sound, and for the second time that day, the hairs on Kiba's neck stood up and he turned around.

A part of him had expected it, but nothing could have prepared him for the sight in front of his eyes.

Chiyume had straightened up, her face tilted towards the ground, shoulders shaking furiously with her bloodied fists clenched at her sides.

She was growling, a deep rumble that originated somewhere deep inside her chest and then vibrated up her throat.

Kiba had lived his entire life with dogs, growling and angry barks had no effect on him whatsoever, but this sound sent a quiver that travelled through his entire body and lodged itself in the pit of his stomach.

It was not a dog's growl.

"_What are you thinking bringing a feline like her into a dog's pack?"_

Kiba stared as she slowly raised her head and the yellow eyes were gleaming like lanterns in the dark beneath her hair as they locked on their target. A shadow began to grow on the left side of her cheek and the moment after another emerged on her brow. More appeared along her neck, over her shoulders, down her arms and Kiba suspected that they were also covering her legs, spreading and narrowing into black stripes.

Kiba knew about the cursed seals. He had fought the twins carrying one himself.

His stomach tightened.

What was happening?

The growl in Chiyume's throat grew and when she opened her mouth and spoke, it sounded as if each word was a snake she bit the head of and spat out onto the ground.

"He. Is not. Trash."

The smirk on the creature's lips faded and got replaced by a frown.

The claws on her hands grew longer, wider, thicker and the razor-sharp edges reflected the sunlight dangerously as they were drawn back.

"He is family."

Kiba blinked.

One blink.

And then Chiyume was gone.

He sharply drew breath and blinked again.

Chiyume was standing behind the monstrous thing and her eyes got covered in a black shadow as she raised her arm.

Then with a single swoop she cut the beast's carotid artery, claws digging through half of the neck on the way

The creatures eyes widened and the mouth fell open. A hand rose to claw at the gaping wound, only to fall down again as the body collapsed into a mere heap on the ground.

The corpse immediately began to rotten, turning into an oozing liquid mush that burned and killed the rice plants it made contact with and when the last stain had vaporised, the only trace that remained of its existence was a black, scorched spot on the ground.

Kiba stared at it and then at Chiyume and almost stumbled backwards when she turned her head and looked at him.

As he looked on, the claws on her hands began to shrink, turning into normal fingernails again. The black spots on her skin faded and disappeared and slowly the green colour of her eyes began seeping back into the yellow, taking over once again and only leaving a faint golden shimmer around the now round pupil.

Kiba couldn't breath. His chest had shrunken to the size of a small paper bag, turning every breath into a struggling battle and he found that he was panting hard, even though he hadn't moved since Chiyume had appeared and saved Neji.

Neji...

He swirled around toward the brink of the stream just in time to see Neji's body roll over the edge and plummet into the water.

"Neji!"

But Chiyume was already there.

Without thinking or hesitation she leaped forward and threw herself into the water, disappearing underneath the surface.

Kiba ran up to the edge, clutching his arm tightly and stared at the swirling water.

After what felt like an eternity, Chiyume's head emerged from the depths and in her arms she was dragging Neji's lifeless body.

She managed to make her way to the brink and together with Kiba they pulled him up over the edge.

Kiba quickly checked him for a pulse and breathing and let out a relieved sigh when he found both.

Chiyume raised herself from the water and kneeled beside the Hyuuga, gently stroking away a dripping strand of hair from his face.

Kiba looked at her, still feeling a bit uneasy from the events that just had passed.

She looked back at him, an anxious and saddened expression in her eyes.

_She said he was family._

_We are family._

"Thank you."

He didn't know what else to say, but the light that brightened up her eyes proved that it had been enough.

Kiba looked down at Neji again. The blood was still streaming from the wound in his side. They would have to hurry.

"We need to take him to Tsunade."

She looked up at him and then turned her head towards the village, then back at him and smiled.

"Kiba!"

Kiba looked up.

Sakura was running towards them and behind her was a team of medical ninjas, carrying two stretchers.

Kiba stared at them and then at Chiyume.

"You...?"

A nod and then Sakura was there and Chiyume took a step back, leaving the other girl to take her place at Neji's side.

"Kiba, what happened?!" The pink haired girl stared at the blood that by now covered both Neji and Kiba.

Kiba shook his head slowly, still looking at Chiyume who was now patting Akamaru soothingly across the back.

"I'm not sure about that myself..."

* * *

**Yay, first fighting-scene ever! **

**Did I do good???**

**Review pretty please, make me happy! **

* * *


	14. Dead Men Tell No Tales

**Dead Men Tell No Tales...**

The red light above the door went out and Tsunade walked out of the emergency room.

Kiba got up from the bench he had been sitting on and hurried up to her.

He had his arm in a sling and kept it tightly pressed against his body as he moved.

"How is he?"

Tsunade glanced back at the closed doors and for a moment Kiba feared the worst, but then she looked back at him, smiling tiredly.

"He got lucky. The fangs missed his lungs with barely an inch. He will have to stay in bed for a while, but he'll recover.

Kiba let out a relieved sigh.

_Thank god..._

Tsunade looked at him and then her eyes drifted down the corridor.

Chiyume was sitting by the door with her knees folded against her chest, staring at the opposite wall. Akamaru was lying at her feet, sometimes looking up at her with a slight wag of the tail, but he didn't get any response.

"Has she said anything yet?"

Kiba glanced back.

"No. She's just sitting there."

"Did anyone see her?"

She said it low so that Chiyume wouldn't hear. Kiba shook his head.

"No. We were too far out."

"Good." She pulled her hand over her eyes. "If the council hears about his there will be nothing I can do to keep them from kicking her out from the village. Or worse."

She looked back at Kiba.

"How's your arm?"

Kiba nudged the sling with his fingertips.

"Sakura took a look at it when we got here. She said it could have been worse."

He raised his head and looked at the raven girl on the bench. "It would have ended a lot worse if she hadn't shown up when she did."

He scowled and his tone was almost angry as he spoke.

"We got completely run over back there. Both Neji and me. It was as if he was just toying with us."

That insane laughter and the kunai against Neji's face...

"_I might get to have some fun with you..."_

"But she..." he continued, now softer. "That thing didn't even have a chance. She was to fast. She just... killed him."

"Did she show any hostility against you?"

Kiba threw the Hokage a testy look.

"I told you that she saved us. She went after Neji when he fell into the water."

He lowered his head.

"She hates water."

Tsunade glanced at the boy and then back to the girl down the hallway.

"You two should head home. Try to get some rest."

With a light pat on his shoulder, she then turned around and left.

----------------

"That was close."

Kiba and Chiyume walked out from the hospital. Chiyume was walking by his side with Akamaru tightly pressed against her thigh, as if she was using him as support. Her eyes were focused on the ground.

Kiba glanced at her, but she didn't meet his gaze.

"Hey."

She flinched. Ever so lightly and her eyes flicked at him for barley a second.

He stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She still didn't look at him.

"Thank you."

Finally she raised her head and Kiba almost smiled at the surprised look on her face.

"What? You thought we were going to kick you out or something?"

It was a lame joke, and Chiyume just averted her eyes to the ground again.

Had she heard what Tsunade had said at the hospital?

But they had barely been whispering, she couldn't have...

_Just like she couldn't have climbed over the wall._

_Damn it._

"Hey." He nudged her shoulder.

"You saved our lives back there." He laughed silently. "I don't know how you did it, but that's what happened. If it hadn't been for you, we'd be dead."

She bit her lower lip, still facing the ground.

Was she scared? Ashamed? He looked down at Akamaru who wagged his tail and grinned. Kiba smiled and then turned back to Chiyume.

"Don't worry."

He tilted her head up.

"We don't throw out members of our own family."

She blinked and then slowly an almost sheepish smile graced her lips. Kiba grinned and patted her cheek playfully.

"That's it. You should smile more often."

She pushed his hand away with a light snort and gave him a huffed look.

"You should!" he protested. "It suits you."

She opened her mouth, as if she was about to say something, but then her smile faded away as quickly as it had emerged and she turned her head to the side, looking down the street.

"What's wrong?"

"He's back..."

"What?"

She turned away from him and started running.

"Chiyume! Damn it, not again..."

He sprinted after her, clutching around his arm to keep it as still as possible. This time he didn't bother to call out after her, he knew that she wouldn't answer him.

She had that look on her face again. Like an animal who sensed smoke from miles away.

He hissed when a sharp pain shot up through his arm.

Who's back?

That thing from before? No, that's impossible, she killed him!

Who the hell was she talking about?

Grimacing from the pain that seemed to grow with every step he was forced to slow down, but he managed to reach the clearing in front of the main gate just in time to see Chiyume stop at the very threshold of the village.

Kiba halted a few steps behind her and waited. Except for them the only people there were the two guards sitting at the shelter next to the gate. They threw Kiba a questioning look but he waved them off.

They waited.

A soft breeze rustled through the leaves and the sun had begun to set in the horizon, colouring the summer sky in crimson and orange.

Then Chiyume did a quiet whimper and took a step forward.

It definitely wasn't the sound Kiba had expected to hear.

It wasn't hostile or threatening in any way. Instead it reminded him about the way Akamaru had sounded like when he was just a puppy and Kiba came home from school.

He followed her gaze down the road and slowly three figures became visible in the dusk light.

Even in the sharp light from the setting sun Kiba recognized them, and it seemed as if the three did the same about them.

The person in the middle began sprinting towards the gate, waving his hand widely while calling out to them.

"Oi, Kiba!"

Kiba waved back at the blonde and it didn't take long before Naruto skidded to a halt in front of them with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"How's it going?"

Kiba shrugged, an awry movement due to the bandage reaching around his neck and shoulder.

"As good as expected. You guy's sure took your time."

Naruto's smile faded somewhat.

"Yeah... some things came up..."

He glanced down at the sling around Kiba's arm.

"What happened to you?"

Kiba sighed.

"Long story, man..."

"What, you got your ass kicked dog-boy?"

By now the other two had caught up with Naruto and Kankuro fired of an evil snigger at Kiba.

Kiba merely snorted back.

"I got lucky. Neji ended up at the hospital."

Naruto stared at him.

"Neji? At the hospital?"

"What happened?"

Kiba looked up at the sound of Gaara's voice, but the sand-ninja wasn't talking to him.

He was standing in front of Chiyume and Kiba could feel the same electric sensation going on in the air between them as the day Gaara and Naruto had left.

Chiyume met his gaze calmly.

Naruto leaned over towards Kiba and whispered in his ear;

"When we entered fire country this morning, Gaara suddenly feel down to the ground, clutching his head and screaming like crazy. It took us forever to calm him down, and once we did all he said was that we had to get home. That something had happened here." He looked at Kiba.

"What happened, Kiba?"

Kiba opened his mouth to answer, but he got interrupted by Gaara's voice cut through the air.

"Who?"

They turned around to look at them.

Chiyume wasn't saying anything, but Gaara's eyes narrowed at her nonetheless, as if she was speaking clearly.

"When?"

More silence.

Gaara's eyes landed on Kiba's arm for a split second and then went back to study Chiyume's face. Suddenly his eyes widened and a shocked expression flew across his face.

"You did _what_?"

Chiyume blew out air through her nose at him, seemingly offended by the question and Kiba found that he actually understood the meaning of that snort.

"_Don't sound so surprised" s_eemed to be the most vital undertone in it, though Kiba suspected that Gaara had heard a whole lot more then just that.

Gaara looked at her but didn't say anything else. Instead he turned toward Kiba.

"Is he awake?"

Kiba blinked.

"Neji? I don't know. He was still unconscious when we left."

"I need to talk to him. And the Hokage as well."

Kiba shrugged again.

"Sure, when?"

"Now."

----------------------

They had to wait until the next day to see Neji.

Even though Gaara and Tsunade glared each other blind over the matter, the fact was that Neji was still in too bad shape and wouldn't have the strength to attend to any visitors.

But the turned down visit gave Kiba the opportunity to tell Naruto and Kankuro about what had happened while they were away. Gaara had left to speak with Tsunade, but Kiba was pretty sure that the Kazekage had heard it all from Chiyume already.

When Naruto found out about the markings that had spread over Chiyume's body his fists clenched and his eyes grew dark.

Kiba knew what the boy must have thought about and he found himself wondering if Sasuke's seal had looked the same...

The morning after, Kiba left Chiyume in the care of Kakashi, since he was the only one he could be sure she wouldn't (or couldn't for that matter) run away from and then he went to the hospital to meet up with Naruto and the others.

He was itching to hear what it was that Gaara was going to say, since Chiyume couldn't come along. The sand-nin had been very firm on that point; the girl stayed home.

He scowled.

That could only mean one thing; bad news.

Naruto was waiting for him in the lobby and Kiba's suspicions grew when he saw that the blonde wasn't smiling.

Something was wrong.

"Hey, Naruto."

"Hi. The others are waiting inside."

Still no smile.

They walked down the hallway and soon reached the door to Neji's room which Naruto opened and together they walked inside.

Neji was sitting now, propped up by a bunch of pillows.

His hair was let loose from its usual ponytail and his hitaiate was lying on a chair next to the bed together with the rest of his clothes.

He was wearing hospital pyjamas of some sort, shirt unbuttoned, showing off a large bandage that was wrapped around his torso and left shoulder.

He didn't look to well and Kiba suspected that it was out of pure pride that the Hyuuga wasn't lying down in front of his guests.

Tsunade and Sakura were there and, for a reason that Kiba didn't understand, Hinata.

Gaara was standing by the window; his gourd leaned against the wall. Kankuro was standing next to him, arms crossed over his chest, looking just as serious as his brother.

Tsunade waved Kiba and Naruto in and pointed to another set of chairs.

"Finally. We've been waiting for you."

"How are you feeling, Neji?" Kiba asked.

"I'm fine." Neji answered in his usual smooth voice. "I think I'll be able to go home soon."

"That's great." Kiba smiled, but in his mind he thought that the brunet looked as if he could use another week or to in that bed.

Tsunade seemed to be of the same opinion, because she gave the boy one of her doctor-looks and casually leaned over and pushed lightly on the bandage.

Neji hissed sharply and jerked away from the touch, his face turning pale.

Tsunade shook her head firmly.

"I don't think so, Hyuuga. You're lucky if I let you out of here in less then a month."

Neji's lips pressed together, forming a thin line, but he didn't say anything else.

"So!" Tsunade looked around the room. "Should we get started?"

Everybody turned to Gaara, who didn't seem to notice since he just kept looking out the window.

"Gaara." Tsunade sounded annoyed. "I have no idea why you felt like giving your report to everyone, but now we're here, so I suggest you start talking."

"Tsunade-sama..."

Tsunade turned towards Naruto.

Had he just called her by her real name? And with an _honour_-suffix? She couldn't remember that such a thing had ever happened before.

"What?"

Naruto had been looking down into the floor, but now he slowly raised his head and glared at her.

"Don't."

She blinked. There was no sign of politeness in the blonde's voice. He was downright telling her to _back off_.

He turned his face to the floor again, but in that short moment their eyes had connected she was sure that she had seen a glint of red in the boy's eyes.

She glanced at Gaara.

What in the world was going on here?

In that moment Gaara turned away from the window and stuck his hand inside his robe and pulled something out.

He held it out against the sunlight that streamed in through the window and immediately thousands of rainbows seemed to fill up the room.

He angled the object slightly and the prisms disappeared and instead focused into a single point on the floor in front of him.

Together they formed the image of a large star, resting in the cradle of a moon-shard. The star's rays shot out from the centre and formed a glistening frame around the image.

Gaara kept the image that way for a couple of more seconds before pulling his hand back and removing the object from the light. As the star disappeared, it felt as if the room was thrown into shadow from the lack of its light.

"We found this in her village."

He held up the crystal for them to see. The star they had seen on the floor was inscribed in the crystal's surface.

"You found her village?" Sakura shone up.

Gaara glanced at her before tucking the crystal back inside his robe with a sigh.

"Among other things."

----------------------

They had been walking in the same direction for two and a half days.

Gaara had not said anything since Naruto and Kankuro had found him outside the village and he had only given them the new directions back then. Neither of the two boys were that eager to break the silence, and Kankuro himself knew better then to try. After all, he knew that look on Gaara's face better than anyone.

Whatever his brother did to that slave trader, he didn't want to know.

However, now, at noon of the third day, Gaara suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

Naruto looked at Kankuro for support, but the puppet master just shook his head.

"Is it a village?" the blonde asked.

"Yes."

Kankuro scowled at his brother's answer.

"Who would live all the way out here? All the maps say that this area is deserted."

"It is."

They both looked at Gaara, but he just began walking, heading straight forward.

As they got closer they understood what he had meant.

The village, or the remains of it, had been burned to the ground.

A few scorched ruins were all that was left. Naruto stopped at the sight, but Gaara kept heading down the street.

"What is this place?"

Gaara stopped and then he turned around and looked at him.

"Her home."

Naruto blinked and then he looked around again.

"You mean... they burned it down? This is all that's left?"

"Yes."

Gaara continued down the main street and the others followed him, eyeing the destruction around them.

The road winded itself up a small hill and disappeared behind it. They followed it, but when they reached the peak, they all stopped.

Kankuro's jaw dropped and Naruto felt as if he was going to be sick.

In front of them was a clearing, surrounded by the ruins of former houses. The clearing seemed to have served as the town square since other streets were connected to it like the threads of a cobweb. The hill they were standing on was overlooking the scenery, and the viewpoint turned the pattern into some kind of grotesque piece of art.

In the centre of the round clearing, there was a large pile of dead bodies. Black skeletons of corpses that had been torched over ten years ago. The exact size of the pile couldn't be told because of the distance, but it was sure to reach over a grown man's head.

Around the human bonfire along the borders of the clearing, marking each side street connecting to the town square, poles had been raised.

The poles were all sharpened at the top and on each of them was a skeleton threaded, facing the horrid scene at the centre, staring at it with empty and hollow eyes.

As they stood there gaping at the nightmare in front of them, trying to regain their composures, Kankuro was the first to speak.

"What kind of disturbed mind came up with this?"

"Probably the same one who decided to burn the village."

Kankuro glanced at his younger brother who was looking down at the town square. His face showed nothing of what he thought of it, though his eyes were like ice and his hands balled into fists at his sides.

Gaara started walking down the street towards the massacre below and after a moment of hesitation, the other two followed him.

As they were walking, the more proof they saw of how horrible the slaughter must have been.

The skeletons on the poles had their feet and hands tied and again Naruto had to fight back a new wave of nausea. The only reason someone would have tie them like that would be if the person in question put up a struggle, which in turn meant that the people had been alive when they were speared through.

And then there was the pile in the centre, which he only threw a quick glance on and then turned away.

The slave traders had obviously gathered the bodies of the villagers and just thrown them on top of each other, creating this morbid construction.

Some of the skeletons had their hands stretched out from the coaled remains, desperately reaching out as if they were trying to crawl away from the flames.

Burned alive.

"Gaara..." His voice was shaky, but he didn't bother trying to hide it.

"I know."

"They were..."

"I know." The red haired boy turned around. "They never had a chance."

Naruto looked around again, forced himself to take in the horror of the place and braced himself against the images the scene provided his brain with.

How someone could be so cruel, so _sick_... He just couldn't grasp it. How could someone do something like this and then try to justify it...

"How much of this did she see?" he whispered, not trusting his voice to carry more strength than that.

"Only the beginning. She blacked out before it got really bad."

Gaara kneeled down in front of a skeleton lying on the ground. The skull alone was small enough to fit in the palm of his hands, had he reached out for it.

"They burned the infants as well."

Kankuro scowled, a disgusted expression creeping over his face.

"I thought you said that they wanted the children?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Only the ones who could be used as workforce. Infants were too much trouble to bring along and they probably didn't pay as good either. A burden, nothing more."

Suddenly Naruto stepped up beside him and yanked him up from the ground, forcefully turning him around to face him.

"You killed him, didn't you?"

Naruto's eyes were flashing red and the pressure his hand left on Gaara's shoulder created a throbbing pain in the boy's muscles. The blonde's shoulders were shaking from anger and Gaara could almost feel the chakra pulsing inside his body, longing to be released.

The Kyuubi's chakra.

He made sure to keep his voice completely steady when he answered.

"Yes."

The pulsing went down a bit, but the eyes were still crimson when they locked onto Gaara's.

"Was it painful?" he growled.

"Yes."

Again the throbbing went down, and the grip around his shoulder eased a little.

Naruto's face turned towards the ground.

"How painful?" It was almost a whisper.

Gaara hesitated.

He really hadn't planned on letting anyone know about what he had done in that alley, but... He closed his eyes; he didn't want to see Naruto's face when he said it, fearing the look of disgust that might appear there.

"I ripped him to pieces."

Kankuro gasped and Naruto's head shot up. His eyes were blue again and they were staring at Gaara.

"You...?"

"Bit by bit. Slowly."

Naruto turned to look at Kankuro, but Kankuro was also staring at his brother, seemingly stunned.

"Gaara..."

"For her."

He opened his eyes and looked at Naruto who looked back and then nodded, understanding.

With a deep sigh he released Gaara's shoulder and looked around again.

"We can't leave them like this." He stated firmly.

"No." Gaara agreed.

Kankuro stared at them.

"You want us to bury them? _All _of them?"

Naruto sent a glower at the black clad ninja..

"You've got any better suggestions?"

Kankuro looked at the bodies, but didn't answer.

Naruto turned around and walked up to one of the poles and then turned back to Kankuro.

"Help me take them down."

Kankuro looked a bit uncomfortable about the thought, but joined the blonde nonetheless and carefully attached his chakra threads to the skeleton.

Meanwhile, Gaara walked around the square, looking down on the ground as he went.

There was something tugging inside him. He wanted to go somewhere.

_Needed_ to go somewhere.

A light pull to the left, turning onto a side street, the familiar sight of a cracked stone tile on the ground which he felt a sudden need to step on.

Right, left, a small clearing that he knew had been a herbal garden, left, left, right, leaving the town square far behind him, up through a narrow alley, he wanted to run now, but he kept the pace, he was close now... Right, left, right, right...

And there it was.

The porch was still there, though the bar that had surrounded it was gone. The walls of the house were gone, carbonized wooden beams being the only proof of the buildings former existence.

He walked up the small staircase to where the front door should have been and entered into the nonexistent hallway.

Flashes of colours pierced his mind, as clear as if he was looking into a photo album and he closed his eyes.

He turned left, lifting his feet high so that he wouldn't trip on anything. There had been an entrance to the kitchen here. A painting had hung right next to the doorway. He instinctively reached out his hand to brush it against the frame, tracing his fingertips along the carved out patterns he knew had been there.

Mother always got angry when she did that, afraid that she would accidentally tear it down, but she didn't care, as long as she didn't get caught...

He took a light step to the side, avoiding the kitchen table so that she wouldn't slam her head into the table-top.

Up to the counter, running fingers along the smooth wood, turning right and walking out through the other doorway, straight ahead into the living room, past her father's chair. It was brown, made out of leather. There had been a small crack in the skin's surface; father had forbidden her to play in that chair so that it wouldn't break anymore.

It was almost funny how they always though that she was going to break something.

Another painting had been hanging above the sofa, and mother had told her that it was a picture of her when she was just a baby. She had been wearing some kind of dress. She didn't like dresses; they were in the way when you played outside.

Through the door.

Her bedroom.

Brightly coloured walls, a white wooden bed. Not many toys, but... a doll.

A doll wearing a light purple dress with white flowers. Long dark hair, blue porcelain eyes.

"Hanako." He whispered the name.

Hanako was special, but it wasn't her that he was looking for. It wasn't in here.

He turned out again, walked down the hallway from the other direction, took a new left and immediately knew that this was it.

An office.

A small desk on the far side of the room, a little table and two chairs in the corner, a bookshelf.

He walked up to it, eyed its contents. Thick books in leather bands, photos, a Japanese wooden flute. Her father had played the shakuhachi often. Played her lullabies before she went to sleep...

A vase, more books.

There.

She looked up. It was standing on the second highest shelf, she had to take a step back to see it properly.

A crystal figurine, shaped as a teardrop, resting in a small, wooden cradle.

Never touch it. Her father had told her to never touch it. Just look at it.

She never touched it.

Just looked.

The star in the middle was beautiful and reminded her of the flowers her mother had in the garden outside by the porch. The moon encircling it was pale, frosted where it had been cut into the clear stone.

Sometimes the sun would shine in through the window and then the light would split up into thousands of rainbows that would slowly move across the room's walls, floor and ceiling.

She could watch it for hours at a time.

The colours never seized to amaze her.

"Gaara?"

The image of the room fluttered and then disappeared, only leaving him with the darkness behind his eyelids. He felt a painful sting in his chest from the loss of the memory, but then he opened his eyes and turned around.

Naruto was standing behind him, looking worried.

He didn't blame him. He must've looked strange just standing there with his eyes closed.

"Are you feeling alright? It's not one of those...?"

He did a vague movement with his hand, but Gaara understood what he was trying to say.

"No. Not one of those."

He turned back around and looked down onto the ground.

Rubble and burned pieces of raffle was lying all around him and he carefully kneeled down and began digging among the dirt, lifting up pieces of burned wood and blackened rocks and threw them away.

Then he saw it.

The surface was perfectly unharmed, without as much as a single scratch on it. He held it up against the sun and brushed it off with his sleeve and immediately millions of prisms danced before his eyes.

Naruto walked up beside him and looked down on the object in his hand.

"What's that?"

Gaara lowered the crystal again and the prisms disappeared.

"I think it's her family crest."

"Family crest?" he pointed with his thumb against the red swirl on his own back.

"Like this one?"

"Yes."

"Then... we know what her surname is, right?"

Gaara though about it.

It was there, but somehow he couldn't pinpoint it exactly. It was almost as if the knowledge was avoiding to be discovered, fleeing into the darkest corners of his mind.

"Not yet."

He got up and tucked the crystal inside his robe before turning to Naruto again.

"You wanted to ask me something?"

"Eh, yeah... We wondered if you could help us dig the graves? We'll never get it done if we do it by hand."

Gaara glanced over to the spot where Kankuro just brought down the last of the poles after removing the corpse on top of it.

"I've got a better idea."

Together they placed all the remaining skeletons on top of the already existing pile, making sure that all remains of ropes had been removed from their wrists and ankles and then they all took a step back.

"You two will have to back up a bit."

Naruto and Kankuro nodded and headed up to stand on the hill where they first came from.

Once Gaara was sure that they were out of reach he kneeled down and performed a set of hand seals before placing both of his palms onto the ground.

"Ryusa Bakuryuu."

Slowly he released his chakra, avoiding forming the tidal wave of sand that this move usually created and let the chakra seep through the foundations of the earth, winding itself between rocks and rubble, moving them out of the way.

A low rumble emerged from below and slowly the entire town square began to sink, submerging itself into the quicksand that had been formed underneath it.

It took time, but eventually the massacre had been completely covered in sand and black earth.

Gaara released his held back breath and then took a new, deep one, this time focusing his energy on the stone he had moved earlier and started working with it.

Just as slowly as the rest had lowered itself, something started to rise in the centre of the grave.

It kept on rising, reaching higher into the sky until it was a giant pillar silhouetting itself against the setting sun and then Gaara released his breath once more.

It was harder when you had to do it this slow. The move was supposed to be an attack; delicacy and gentle movements were not suited for it, draining his energy as he tried to hold the force steady.

He closed his eyes and brought forth the image he wanted from his mind and then he released the rest of his chakra in one mighty blow.

A cracking sound was heard and he could feel rubble fall around him from the explosion he had caused.

He opened his eyes and slowly stood up again, contemplating his work.

In the centre, like a big monument, was now a drop-shaped pillar inscribed with Chiyume's family crest. It wasn't crystal, and it didn't shoot any rainbows when the sun hit it, but in the light of the crimson sunset it looked as if it had been covered in blood.

Somehow the image seemed suitable.

He turned around and walked up the hill towards his awaiting companions.

No one said anything; they just took one last look on the now desolate scene below them before they turned around and began the long journey home.

* * *

**Sorry, I had planned on writing more for this chapter, but it turned out longer than I thought it would.**

**Now, next chapter will contain some of the explanations that I've been promising.**

**If there's anything special that you're wondering about, then please send me a review and tell me what it is.**

**So I don't miss out on anything, I mean.**

**Otherwise, just send me a review telling me what you think of the story so far. **

**Everything's welcome.**

**Ja na!**

* * *


	15. Straight Things Out

**Straight Things Out**

The entire room was silent for several minutes after Gaara's short and somewhat brutal report on what had happened since he and Naruto had left Konoha.

He purposely left out the encounter with the slave trader, but neither Naruto nor Kankuro said or made any signs of being surprised by it, reasoning that if Gaara wanted to leave that out then it was none of their business.

Kankuro had been looking out the window the entire time and Naruto had kept his eyes locked on the floor beneath his feet.

Neji was sitting in the bed, looking even paler then before and next to him, both Hinata and Sakura looked as if they were going to be sick.

Kiba was gripping his bandaged arm tightly as the word 'family' continuously kept repeating itself inside his head like a tantalizing litany.

Her family...

Tsunade had her eyes locked on the redhead in front of them and even she looked slightly ajar from the story they had just heard.

She was not, however, the first one to speak.

"They... they burned them?" Sakura stared at Gaara, her voice shaky. "Alive?"

Gaara nodded quietly.

"But... They were just innocent people..."

"They didn't care."

Everybody made a slight jump in their seats when Naruto spoke. He still had his head lowered towards the floor, but Tsunade held a strong suspicion that those eyes that stared down was far from the blue ones the blonde usually had.

"They didn't care. They came for the children and that's what they got."

His voice was stern and his hands were tightly fisted around each other between his knees.

"The rest were of no use to them so they just..."

He couldn't bring himself to continue. Not that he had to; they all understood perfectly well what he meant.

"But it's... they had already taken their children and burnt their village. There was no need to do such a thing!" Sakura's voice had started to build in volume. She clearly refused to believe that anyone could do anything like what the three of them had witnessed.

Gaara looked at her.

"They were scared."

"Scared? Why? They were just peasants, and from what you said they didn't even have any weapons and..."

"It wasn't their lives they feared."

Sakura cut herself of and looked at the redhead.

"It wasn't their lives." Gaara repeated. "It was their minds. Their souls."

Sakura was about to open her mouth again, but was stopped by Tsunade's hand on her shoulder.

"Explain yourself." she demanded, her patience clearly faltering.

Gaara looked at her.

"Chiyume's mind reading-abilities are a bloodline limit. A Kekkei Genkai. Which means that her entire clan owned that ability as well."

He closed his eyes, as if thinking about something.

"When the slave traders attacked the village, they never stepped down from their horses. And their legs were completely covered with armor of some sort. They knew that Chiyume's family would need skin-on-skin contact to perform their technique, so they took precautions."

Kiba threw his one arm out in frustration.

"But that still doesn't explain why they would go as far as to kill and burn them. Why couldn't they just leave if they were so scared? They had horses; the clan would never be able to catch up with them."

Gaara sent a quick glare at him that shut him up. Kankuro quickly stepped in between, knowing that this was not a time to be pushing his brother for answers and turned to Kiba.

"On our way there, we asked some questions about the village and the clan, but no one was willing to talk about it. The basically told us to go to hell. But Gaara... we came across a person who knew about it and managed to make him talk to us."

He threw a quick glance at Gaara, but he didn't show any signs of picking up the thread, so Kankuro continued.

"Rumours had it that the clan's abilities were not a bloodline limit, but gained through an alliance with the demons and devils of hell. Obviously some merchants had gotten scared by their abilities and started making up stories. The village became isolated, and eventually even feared. No one merchandised with them anymore; forcing them to grow and produce everything they needed by themselves. After a year or two they village was completely self-supporting and doing well. It didn't seem like that they held any grudges about being abandoned because of a rumour. They probably thought it would all die out soon."

Naruto sighed and straightened up in his chair, and Tsunade noticed with relief that his eyes were blue and not red as she had feared.

"They never had a chance." He said clearly. "They weren't expecting an attack. Once their homes and families were gone I don't think they even had the strength to fight back."

His voice grew dark.

"On our way back we asked more people about it and everybody acted as if was a good thing the village was gone. They spat on the ground and called the entire clan an 'abomination' and said that the people who had gotten rid of it were heroes."

Sakura reached out and place her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

"Naruto, they didn't know..."

"They celebrated when they heard about it."

He looked at Kankuro.

"You heard it too. They told us that all the surrounding villages had been celebrating that day."

Kankuro nodded silently.

"Some even went there to make sure that the job had been properly done. Destroyed the few things that were left..."

Naruto abruptly stood up from the chair and walked up to the window, facing away from everyone else in the room.

"It's not fair." He growled.

The room went silent again. There was nothing they could say.

Eventually Tsunade broke the silence and turned to Gaara.

"Gaara."

Gaara looked at her.

"I will need that stone to confirm for the council what you have just told me."

Gaara's hand immediately reached up to the pocket where the stone was, but he didn't make any signs of handing it over. Tsunade scowled.

"Gaara?"

"You can tell me when you're meeting with the council, and I'll show it to them."

"Gaara, we don't have time for another discussion about this. Give it to me."

"Wait."

Tsunade turned to Neji, who had his eyes locked on Gaara.

"What do you mean 'wait'?" she snapped.

Neji didn't get fazed by the rude tone and instead he met her eyes calmly.

"You said that there were members of the council that wanted her out of the village, right?"

She narrowed her eyes.

"Yes...?"

Neji looked back at Gaara and the redhead nodded slightly.

"Well, suppose that we didn't have any evidence that proved that Gaara's story was true. Wouldn't that make it easier for them to get rid of her?"

Tsunade's expression softened, sensing where this was heading.

"Theoretically speaking, yes."

Neji's brow furrowed.

"Then suppose that they somehow manage to steal the crystal and hide it, maybe even destroy it. We wouldn't have any proof at all."

"Are you saying I would let them steal the stone from me?" Tsunade's temper flared up again, but Neji kept his calm.

"Of course not, but if we're going to look at this realistic, you are a busy woman. You won't be able to watch it all the time."

Tsunade snorted.

"So what do you suggest?"

Neji nodded towards Gaara.

"Let him watch it. Everybody knows who he is, and only a fool would try to steal it from him. That pocket of his is probably the safest place in Konoha right now."

She looked at Gaara and then back at Neji and sighed.

"Fine, you have a point."

Neji smiled.

"Of course."

She glared at him momentarily and then she muttered something that sounded suspiciously much like 'men'...

Sakura looked around the room and sighed deeply.

"So. What do we do now? With Chiyume, I mean..."

Naruto turned away from the window, but he didn't say anything.

Tsunade looked back at Gaara.

"I want to straighten a few things out before we decide anything. Gaara, I'm sure she told you already what happened when you were away."

Gaara nodded.

"She showed me."

Tsunade blinked.

"You mean you...?"

"Yes."

He shrugged with a light grimace.

"It was easier that way."

"Oh. Well... There are a few things I need to know about that."

He shrugged again and Tsunade leaned back in her chair.

"Al right, first of all; what was that thing she fought?"

"A Hunter."

Neji's attention sharpened and Kiba nodded affirming.

"What's a hunter?" Sakura asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like. Her information on them was vague, but apparently they are the one's who take care of the experiments that's gone wrong."

"You say 'they'. Does that mean that there are more of those things?"

"Four. Or five, she's not sure."

"Five more of those?" Neji asked slowly.

"Yes. And stronger. The one you fought were just a decoy to lure her out. "

Neji paled and Kiba breathed in sharply.

_Stronger._

"But... _what _are they? That thing wasn't human."

Gaara sighed. He didn't like talking or explaining, but apparently he wouldn't have any choice. There was no other who could do this...

"They are experiments. The kind that was created for an actual purpose instead of just being fighting machines. Usually keeping the experiment's sanity intact is not a priority, but in these cases it was important. They are supposed to be able to think rationally, come up with strategies, talk and converse like a normal human being. Keeping these abilities were very important."

Meanwhile Kiba's eyes had widened and suddenly he gasped loudly.

"Hold on! Are you saying that... that _thing_ was human once?!"

Gaara looked at him.

"Not only that. He was a volunteer."

"What?!"

"Volunteer. He offered himself to become the monster that you saw. They all did."

Naruto gaped at his friend.

"That's just sick... Who would offer themselves willingly...?" he cut himself off.

Tsunade looked at him, knowing what the blonde was thinking.

_Sasuke..._

Gaara shrugged, seemingly not noticing the blonde's sudden silence.

"Sick or not, they did it. They became Hunters and their job is to keep the other experiments in control. Or catch the one's who manage to escape."

He smirked faintly.

"As I get it, Chiyume's the first one to succeed."

Neji looked up from his spot on the bed when a thought suddenly hit him.

"Are they capable of shape-shifting?" he asked and Gaara glanced at him, almost surprised.

"She didn't mention it. Why?"

"When we first saw him he looked like an ordinary person. It was first when Chiyume got there that he turned back to... that. But I couldn't see it until then. I couldn't even see his chakra."

"I see... I suppose that's because they are that same as her."

Now Neji was the one who looked surprised.

"Her? You mean Chiyume?"

"Yes."

Gaara's eyes drifted to the window.

"You haven't used you're byakugan on her, have you?"

"No. Why would I do that?"

Gaara sighed, realising that he had gotten another thing to explain.

"Chiyume doesn't have any chakra." He said simply.

"No chakra?" Neji was dumbfounded.

Sakura glanced at the sandninja.

"Gaara-san... that can't be right. Everything has chakra. Without chakra, she would be dead."

"She doesn't have any chakra." He repeated firmly. "Her chakra changed during the experiments. Just like her, it started out normal and then turned into something else. She doesn't have any chakra."

"Of course!"

Everybody turned to Kiba, who suddenly looked as if he had solved the biggest puzzle in history.

"That's why she's able to sneak up on you all the time! You don't sense her chakra, because it's not there!"

Neji looked at the dog-nin. It was true, he had tried to be on the lookout for her, but he had never been able to sense her. Even during the fight, that monster had felt her presence clearly, but he himself had not been able to feel her at all.

Was that because she and that thing shared the same kind of chakra?

He looked at Gaara.

"So the genjutsu...?"

"You couldn't see it because the power used to perform it is invisible to your byakugan."

Suddenly Tsunade shook her head.

"No."

"What?"

"She must have chakra. Otherwise that cursed seal wouldn't be able to work."

"That's not a cursed seal."

She looked at Gaara.

"_Not_ a cursed seal?" she asked sceptically.

"Exactly."

Kiba scratched the back of his head.

"It sure looked like a cursed seal to me..."

"What you saw was just the second step in her mutation. She does not have a cursed seal. Orochimaru doesn't give such things to mere experiments."

"How many steps does this mutation have?" Tsunade asked.

Gaara shook his head.

"She doesn't know. This is the first time she can remember anything about the mutation at all. Normally instincts kick in and blank out her memory completely. It all happens without her consent. She can't control it."

"Then we have to make her control it. She must be able to control this thing before we present her for the council."

Kankuro snorted.

"How are we supposed to do that? Go find the rest of those mutant-things and let her fight them as well?"

Tsunade glared at him, but Kankuro didn't even flinch. A lifetime with Gaara had that effect on you.

"It's a perfectly legitimate question." He shrugged.

"We'll have to train her."

Gaara looked at Naruto.

"How?" he asked.

Naruto shook his head.

"I don't know. She'll have to tell us how. But we can't leave it at this, not when she needs our help."

Tsunade sighed and stood up.

"We'll have to come up with something. Gaara, you talk to her about this. We need to know if she's willing to participate before we do anything else."

She looked at the others.

"Meanwhile, I want everybody to stay alert. Especially you two." She gestured to Hinata and Neji.

"If those things come for her again I want to know it before she does, understand? And you do not, under any circumstances start a fight with them. I don't want anyone else hospitalized because you're being hot tempered."

Neji huffed up at the last comment and glared at her, but she didn't pay any attention to him.

Everyone else nodded silently and got up from their chairs and started heading out the door.

Being the last to leave, Kiba looked at Neji who seemed to relax a lot more now that his guests were gone.

"See you later, Neji."

Neji simply nodded and leaned back against the pillow, looking up at the ceiling.

Kiba wouldn't bet any money on it, but he was almost certain that the Hyuuga was fast asleep before he had even gotten out the door.

--------------------------

The night was warm. The thin shard of the moon was hanging high in the sky and showering the roof with dark silver.

Gaara was watching the lights in the houses around him go out one by one, perched on a roof-ridge overlooking the Hokage-tower and the monument on the mountain behind it.

He felt the girl's presence before she even got near him.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" he asked out into thin air.

She sat down next to him and folded her knees to her chest without a word.

"Kiba's going to have a fit if he finds out that you're gone."

"He is sleeping."

Gaara glanced over at her. She was staring out over the rooftops, and as he watched her she raised her head to look at the moon.

"You killed him." She said bluntly.

Gaara had been expecting the subject to be brought up soon enough, but there was something about the way she said it that he didn't like. It was just... too flat.

"Yes." He said, still looking at her.

"Why?"

He blinked.

"What do you mean?" he asked carefully. She looked at him and tilted her head to the side.

"Why? He not do anything to you."

Again, he had managed to end up in a spot where he would have to explain himself. What was wrong with people today?

"He hurt you." He said, hoping that she would catch on. He couldn't place it, but something about this conversation made him feel slightly embarrassed. She tilted her head the other way.

"Me?"

She didn't get it. Wonderful.

He sighed and thought about how he was going to explain this without making a fool out of himself.

"Why did you kill that monster thing?" he said eventually.

Her features darkened slightly.

"He hurt Neji." She growled.

"What did you feel like when he did that?"

Her nails dug into the fabric of her trousers.  
"Fire." She hissed. "Inside."

He nodded.

She glanced at him.

"He did not scream."

Gaara blinked again.

"The monster?"

She shook her head.

"Akuma."

"Akuma..."

Somewhere deep inside his mind something clicked and Gaara looked away.

"That wasn't his real name." he said meaningly. She snorted.

"Demons do not have names."

She sighed and placed her head on her knees.

"I wanted to hear him scream." She whined.

She looked at him sharply, almost suspiciously.

"Did it hurt?"

He didn't have to ask her what that meant.

"Yes."

"A lot?" she raised her head and smiled hopefully.

"Yes..." he looked at her hesitantly.

She nodded and returned her eyes to the moon again.

"Then it is okay."

Gaara stared at her. How anyone could give her a nickname like 'Kitten' was completely out of his reach. This girl was a blood crazed monster.

He had barely finished the thought when she turned and glared at him with a loud snort. Gaara scowled.

'_Don't give me that look.' _

'_What look?' _came the innocent answer.

'That_ look. And you shouldn't eavesdrop on other people's thoughts like that.'_

She snorted again.

'_Then you should not think of me. It is annoying.'_

Gaara raised a brow.

'_Excuse me?'_

'_You do. Always. I hear you miles away.'_

He was about to answer when a horrifying though suddenly hit him.

"You heard what I thought this afternoon?" he asked carefully.

"No. Promised Kiba not to."

He relaxed again. He had to thank Kiba about that later.

"You think of me much this afternoon?" she asked.

There she went again. It was always 'though of', never 'speak of'. Sometimes that could be quite confusing.

"We talked about you."

He took a deep breath, thinking that he would have to do it sometime soon anyway.

"You know why Naruto and I left, don't you?"

She nodded.

"We found your home-town. The others think you shouldn't hear about it, but I believe you have the right to know."

She didn't say anything and when he looked up at her, she looked completely unfazed by the news.

"I'll share the memory with you if you want it. But it's not pretty."

"No."

She shook her head firmly.

"I want to remember like it was."

Gaara nodded, he understood.

He hesitated for a moment, but then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the crystal and held it up against the night sky.

The prisms that shot out from it this time were not as strong and multicoloured like they had been during the day, but beautiful nonetheless.

Chiyume looked at it, seemingly not at all surprised that he had it, and for a moment he thought that she might have forgotten about it, but then she spoke again.

"It has not changed." She whispered.

"It belongs to you." He offered it to her. "I'm supposed to guard it until we meet with the council, but if you want it..."

"No!"

She stared at him.

"Never touch it! I must never touch it! Father said never touch it!" The mere thought seemed to terrify her and he quickly put it back into his pocket.

"Okay. I understand."

She looked at him and then she sighed.

"You guard it. It safe with you." Then she shone up again. "I have it when I grow up. Father promise so."

Somewhere a door opened and closed again, disturbing the peace for a moment. A light wind played with Chiyume's black hair, ruffling it lightly.

"You turned during that fight with the Hunter."

Gaara was still looking out over the village when he spoke.

She didn't answer.

"You fought it, but you couldn't hold it back completely."

He looked at her, but she had her face turned down so he couldn't see her face.

"You're learning to control it, aren't you?"

Gaara sighed and looked out over the treetops on the other side of the wall.

"Kiba and Neji said that you went over the wall."

She glanced at him and he met her eyes.

"Do you practice there? In the forest?"

She nodded quickly.

"Why there?"

She looked down on her hands and traced a scar on the back of her hand with her fingers.

"It wants out... Always. It never sleeps. It wants out... If I hide, it won't hurt anyone..."

She buried her face in her hands.

"It tells me to hurt them. When Kiba... I almost..."

Suddenly she leaned over and threw her arms around Gaara's neck, almost toppling the poor boy over when she buried her face against his shoulder.

'_I am scared.'_

Gaara, who was still trying to regain his balance after the sudden attack, gave her an awkward pat on the back in an attempt to calm her down.

'_What if it get out? What if I hurt someone?'_

"We'll help you." He tried to pry the girl's arm of his throat so that he could breathe, but that only resulted in Chiyume tightening the grip even harder.

'_Chiyume, let go.'_

The arms loosed slightly, but she didn't release him.

'_Chiyume, your suffocating me.'_

Finally she let go of his throat, but instead she resumed her favourite position lying with her head in his lap, also efficiently preventing him from getting away by wrapping her arms around his leg instead.

Gaara sighed and gave the moon a frustrated glare.

"You are very annoying sometimes." He said slowly.

'_And you are touchy.'_

He smirked.

'_I should have realised that you were just trying to pounce on me.'_

She snorted.

'_You need to loose more. You are worse than Neji.'_

'_You mean loosen up?'_

'_Same thing.'_

This time he couldn't hold back a smile and he shook his head slowly.

"I wonder how Kiba's managed to put up with you for this long..."

'_He likes get pounced on.'_ She stated simply and Gaara rolled his eyes at her.

After all this time Chiyume had spent so many times laying with her head in his lap that it almost felt natural for him to have her there. It was like having the biggest kitten on earth snoozing there.

If she stared to purr or something he wouldn't be a bit surprised.

Chiyume turned around so that she was lying on her back, facing the sky and looked at him.

'_Will you really help me?'_

Gaara nodded and she smiled at him again before she turned around to her original position and promptly fell asleep with a content sigh.

Gaara groaned and leaned back onto his elbows and closed his eyes.

'_When my legs fall asleep, she's off.'_

* * *


	16. The Nature of a Beast

**The Nature of a Beast**

The candlelight on his desk flickered, alerting him about the fact that the door to his office had been opened.

"Yes?" he asked slowly, not bothering to look up from the scroll he was currently reading, the flame reflecting itself dangerously in his glasses.

The man in the doorway immediately stepped further into the room and quickly closed the door behind him.

"Kabuto-sama!" he greeted and bowed his head in submission, a hint of panic slicing through his voice. "We have received news of the missing experiment."

The silver haired man behind the desk glanced up on him and studiously slowly pushed the scroll aside and leaned back in his chair.

"Well then... Let's hear it."

"The group of Hunters set out after the target has reported back that the target has been located and is currently under observation."

Kabuto's eyes darkened.

"Observation was not part of the mission." He said coldly.

"Eh... they mentioned some special circumstances to why that decision was made and..."

"It is not their place to make decisions either." Kabuto was clearly displeased with the news and his eyes were flashing dangerously at the messenger who felt a drop of cold sweat slowly form and trickle down his temple, despite the chilly temperature of the underground room.

"The report says that one of them got killed." He tried quickly.

"Killed?" Kabuto's anger seemed to lessen slightly as one of his brows raised in question.

"Yes, sir."

"By who?"

"By... by the t-target... Sir."

Kabuto's brow furrowed and he leaned further back into his seat with a thoughtful expression, his left hand cogitatively reaching up to push the spectacle frames higher up the bridge of the nose.

She actually managed to kill a Hunter? Seemed as if his little Kitten had managed to pick up a few tricks since her escape.

He'd have to take care of that.

"Tell them that there will be no more observation of the target. As soon as they get the chance they are to proceed with the original plan. I don't care if only one of them survives in the end; I want that girl brought back here, now. I also want their leader replaced with two other Hunters and then sent back here. Immediately, understood?"

The man nodded and hastily began pulling back towards the door.

"Oh, and one more thing..."

The messenger turned back around again and met the steely eyes of the sound-ninja.

"I do not want Orochimaru-sama to hear about any of this. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes, Kabuto-sama."

"Good. You can leave now."

The man was out the door before the sentence had ended.

Once the door was shut again, Kabuto groaned and momentarily removed his glasses to run his hand across his face in a tired and frustrated motion.

That girl was going to be the death of him, without a doubt.

Just wait until she was back. If she considered the treatment from before to be cruel, it would be a child's-play to what she had to expect now.

"I'm going to dissect that damn alley-cat alive and then stitch her back together again..." he grumbled and stood up from his desk.

Making his way to the door, opening it and stepping outside he absentmindedly began to think about the different methods he could use to remove the heart and keep her alive at the same time.

"Looks like your pet is turning disobedient."

At the sound of the familiar unemotional voice Kabuto stopped.

Why wasn't he surprised?

Slowly he turned around and looked at the young man who was casually leaning against the wall next to his office-door, studying the nails on his left hand with faked interest.

"Can I help you with something, Sasuke-_kun_?" he asked with mocking politeness. Courtesy was a thing he saved for the times Orochimaru was around to hear it.

Sasuke did a light chuckle and polished the nails on the front of his shirt.

"Judging from what I heard, it is you who need help, not I."

"Then, unless you're not offering..."

He turned around and started walking away again, but only got three steps or so before Sasuke spoke again, a bit more aculeate this time.

"Does he know that your precious experiment managed to escape right underneath your nose?"

Kabuto froze.

"Oh... I guess he doesn't, huh? Keeping dirty little secrets from your master, are you?"

Kabuto slowly turned again and looked coldly at Sasuke who was now smirking at him.

That god damn smirk! Oh, Kabuto had been itching to cut that of since the day the brat first arrived. With a dull scalpel and a whole-hearted grin.

"You've got something to say, Uchiha, then say it. Otherwise, I recommend you to mind your own business."

"Or what?" Sasuke looked up and now all hints of sarcasm were gone from his voice. "You'll run off squealing to your split-tongued master? You think he'll give a shit about your whining?"

He leaned of the wall and took a step forward, suddenly with an even wider smirk on his lips.

"Let's face the facts here, Kabuto. You're not Orochimaru's favourite pet anymore. I am. And that drives you crazy, doesn't it?"

Kabuto simply gave him a quick glance and a smirk of his own.

"We both know why he spends so much time with you, Uchiha."

Sasuke shrugged.

"Of course. He's checking out the merchandize. It's only logical."

He took another step forward so that he was standing right in front of the other man, their chests almost touching. Even though Sasuke was younger than Kabuto, they were almost at the same height.

"But then again, I'm the one getting the attention here. As I've understood it, you haven't been awarded with such a thing for quite some time now."

Kabuto didn't move a muscle when Sasuke circled behind him and smugly placed his head right next to his ear.

"I even heard that you actually offered yourself to take my place once. Or was it twice?"

Kabuto's jaw clenched slightly, but he still didn't move or make a retort.

"He rejected you, didn't he?" Sasuke continued smugly. "He basically told you that you weren't good enough. But _I'm_ good enough. _I've_ got the body and abilities that he wants. Not you."

Kabuto felt him move away from his back and turned his head slightly to the side to look at him. Sasuke met his eyes nonchalantly, enjoying the icy glare the other was trying so hard to hide.

"So what makes you think that he would care about if you live or die? Except for the fact that he needs a personal slave-doctor to tend to him after the body-switch? You're nothing but a tool."

"Then logically, if I'm not mistaken, so are you."

"Yes." Sasuke looked at him. "So am I. But that doesn't change the fact that you'd happily switch places with me if you ever got the chance. Not because you want it, but because you can't stand the thought of him preferring me over you."

Sasuke circled around him completely so that he was now standing in front of him again.

"That's why you're keeping this little slip-up of yours a secret, isn't it? Because somewhere deep inside that deranged, brain-washed little head of yours, you still believe that there's a chance that he might pick you after all. That if you do everything right, with no errors or mistakes, he will acknowledge you once again and forget about me."

Kabuto straightened up and looked down on the slightly shorter boy.

"You stuck-up brat." he smirked and pushed his glasses higher up. "Do you actually believe that you can waltz right in here and start making up conclusions just like that? Simply because you've been _sparring_ with him for three years? Three, _pitiful_, short years? Let me straighten this out for you; You have no idea what kind of powers he's got, and you have no idea of how big the difference is between you and me."

He turned his back against the Uchiha prodigy and started walking down the dark corridor.

"When the time comes, Sasuke-kun, you'll realise just what kind of fate you've picked, and then you'll also see why I am not the slightest interested in switching places with you."

--

--

The late summer sun was shining down on Konoha's training grounds from the azure-blue sky, making the air shimmer with heat.

Naruto, Gaara, Kiba and Chiyume had gathered in front of the many wooden poles that were set up around the area for taijutsu training.

Chiyume was looking around doubtfully and it was evident that she wasn't happy with the location.

Naruto was sitting down on the ground, leaning his head against one of the poles and Kiba was lying down on his back a few feet away, using Akamaru as a pillow.

Gaara was standing in front of Chiyume and from what the other two could tell, they were engaged in one of those words-less conversations again.

They had come here to help Chiyume with the transformation-training, but when the girl found out that it was going to take place within the city walls, she had gone into stubborn-mode and refused.

That had been half an hour ago, and neither of them had been successful in convincing her otherwise and eventually Gaara had gone over to the mind-reading method, hoping that she would be more reasonable that way.

'_No'_

'_We talked about this.'_

'_Not here. Dangerous.'_

'_It is not dangerous.'_

'_People here.'_

'_They're far away.'_

'_Not far enough.'_

'_Stop it..'_

'_Dangerous.'_

Gaara resisted the urge to groan loudly in frustration.

'_Listen, you can do this."_

Chiyume glanced over his shoulder at the other two boys.

'_Don't worry about them. They know what to do.'_

She looked back at him and with a heavy sigh she rolled her eyes at the sky.

'_Fine.'_

She walked passed him and over to the other two who sat up when they realised that the negotiations were over.

"Okay! Let's do this." Naruto grinned at her, energetic as ever.

She gave him a doubtful little smile and then glanced back at Gaara, who just crossed his arms over his chest. He was not going to back down after all that work.

Kiba walked up to them with Akamaru closely behind him.

"Don't worry, we'll start off slow. You get to set the pace yourself and if you feel like it's getting too tough, we'll stop, okay?"

She nodded and Kiba grinned.

"Great!" He pointed towards one of the sparring-poles. "Give that one a go, and we'll see what to do from there."

Suddenly Chiyume's facial expression changed. She looked at Kiba with a brow sceptically raised.

"What?"

She looked at the pole again and then back at him. She almost seemed amused by something.

Kiba looked at Naruto.

"Did I say something wrong?" he asked. Naruto just shook his head, looking just as dumbfounded as he did.

Chiyume sighed and glanced back at Gaara, almost pleading. Gaara shrugged.

"I tried. They didn't listen."

She snorted out a low laughter and then she gave Kiba and Naruto a playful smirk.

They didn't see it happen, but all of a sudden the upper part of the pole Kiba had been pointing at was lying on the ground, neatly sliced up in three pieces.

Chiyume leaned against the remaining log and looked at them with a mirthful gleam in her eyes, her long claws growing back into normal fingernails on her right hand.

Kiba and Naruto just gaped while Gaara seemed completely unfazed by the passed event.

The redhead glanced at the massacred log and then back to the other two ninjas.

"I think you're going to need some more logs." He stated matter-of-factly before turning around and walking away.

--

--

Weeks passed.

Kiba's arm healed up nicely and soon after, Neji got released from the hospital with overflowing exhortations from Shizune to be careful and a short comment from Tsunade telling him to stay out of trouble.

Together with the others he started to take turns with supervising Chiyume's training sessions at the training grounds. Both Shikamaru and Chouji would stop by on occasions to see how things were going, but they left the whole training-stuff to Gaara and the others, though Gaara was forced to leave sometimes to take care of official business.

He was the Kazekage after all.

And, to be honest, there wasn't much to supervise at the moment, since Chiyume still refused to transform anything more than her hands and nails.

Gaara had given up his attempts to convince her and the others didn't even want to try.

"It'll come when she's ready I guess..." Kiba sighed and looked over at the girl who was currently studying a birds-nest in a nearby tree with overwhelming fascination.

"Well, it's not like log-practice is going to get her anywhere." Neji pointed out.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Kiba glared at him.

"She needs something that actually poses a threat. Like a real enemy."

Kiba rolled his eyes at the sky and snorted.

"Tch, and who is supposed to take on that role voluntarily? I mean, if you wanna attack her, fine, but don't come whining to us when she cuts your head off."

"She wont." Neji answered calmly.

"And how can you be so sure?" Naruto asked.

"Because she acts on instinct. Even if she would turn, she wouldn't see us as a threat as long as we didn't do anything to deserve it."

"You're just guessing." Kiba snarled.

"Kiba's right."

The trio turned around to Gaara who was standing leaned against a nearby tree.

"What?" Even Kiba seemed a bit chocked over the unexpected support.

"Kiba's right. It wouldn't be safe."

"But she didn't hurt us last time." Neji crossed his arms over his chest. "She protected us and she..."

"You have no idea of how close to dying you were back then."

"Just because I was unconscious doesn't meant that..."

"Both of you." Gaara suddenly glared at them. "She could have turned against you at any minute."

"But..." Naruto started, but Gaara interrupted him.

"No. I'm going to explain it one last time; The transformation is triggered by her primal instincts and the adrenaline they create. They blank her mind out and all that's left after that are pure, animalistic instincts. She can't separate friends from enemies. Everything's a threat, threats that have to be eliminated before they eliminate her."

Naruto and Kiba shared a terrified look, but Neji still looked sceptical.

"Isn't that what we're here to help her with? If she's going to learn how to control it we'll have to..."

"Listen and respect her decisions." Gaara locked eyes with the Hyuuga. "If she says that she's not ready, then she's not ready."

"But if those things come back we..."

"You don't know anything about what's going on here, Hyuuga."

Suddenly the atmosphere around the two males grew cold and Neji's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Excuse me?"

"She is unstable. If she's forced into transforming things can go wrong. _Very_ wrong. I am sure that you understand the risks that such a thing would pose on this village."

He gave Neji a new glare, which, believe it or not, the Hyuuga managed to match perfectly, his silvery eyes giving a very convincing imitation of a blizzard.

"I. Am. Aware." he said coldly.

"Hey guys..." Naruto quickly stepped in between what seemed to be developing into an open fistfight at any moment. "Let's calm down, alright?"

He turned towards Neji.

"Eh, I think, what Gaara's trying to say, though somewhat blunt, is that... eh... we should all just cut her some slack, okay? She's in a tough spot."

Neji gave Gaara another glare before letting the tension in his shoulders drop. Naruto looked over at Gaara and glowered at him until the redhead turned away, even though somewhat reluctantly.

"Great!" Kiba joined Naruto in the middle and gave Neji a light pat on the shoulder. "Let's go eat something; we've been out here all day. I bet everybody's hungry."

Gently pushing at Neji, he managed to get the other teen to turn around and staring to move away towards town again.

Naruto turned to Gaara, who had gone back to studying the ground by his feet.

"What was that about? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the roof this morning or what?"

"It's nothing."

"Yeah, right, and your hair colour's fake to, huh? What's going on?"

Had anyone else heard that conversation, they would probably have classed Naruto as dead-man-walking-soon-to-be-desert-coffined, but Gaara just sighed and closed his eyes.

"You're as stubborn as ever."

"Guess so."

Gaara glowered at him and then looked over at Chiyume who had gotten tired of studying the birds nest, and was now climbing trees instead.

"She's scared." He said.

Naruto followed his gaze and nodded.

"I know." He glanced at Gaara. "You don't expect me to believe that it's just instincts that causes her to turn, do you?"

"No."

"Then why not tell the truth?"

"Because right now, we don't need the council to panic about the thought of having a second Bijuu-vessel behind their walls."

The blonde smiled at the thought.

"Yeah. I guess that would be pretty bad, huh?... But what about Neji and the others? Don't they have the right to know?

"They might not understand. It's better to keep it secret for now."

Naruto sighed.

"I hate keeping secrets, Gaara. You know that."

"I know."

Gaara leaned off the tree with a new glance at Chiyume.

"You've felt it to, haven't you?" he suddenly asked.

Naruto followed his gaze and sighed.

"I know that she's not a jinchuuriki, that's for sure. I mean, she's got something inside of her, but it's not... like us."

Gaara lowered his eyes to the ground again.

"A jinchuuriki simply shares its body with a demon. With her, it's like she's... merged with it."

Naruto stared at him.

"You mean that she's turned into a half-demon? Gaara, that's just weird."

"You said it yourself that it's not a demon. But it's not human either. I'm not sure if she knows for herself what it is."

"Doesn't that mean that this whole transformation-thing is a bit risky? I mean, if she doesn't know what she's turning into...If _we _don't know..." Naruto threw his arms out in frustration.

"This is just golden! What are we supposed to do then? We can't provoke a transformation, she refuses to do it voluntarily and we haven't got a clue about what were dealing with! What _are_ we doing here exactly?!"

Gaara watched calmly as the blonde threw his short tantrum, and then he gave him a long, steady look.

"You know just as well as I do, that this has to start with her mind, not her body. She _is_ training, even though we can't see it."

Naruto thought about it for a while and realised that Gaara was right. She needed to make contact first, just like he had done with the Kyuubi. She needed time.

"So... we wait?" he asked and Gaara nodded.

"We wait."

--

--

More weeks went by with no change, and summer began to drift towards its end.

Gaara's and Naruto's arguments about leaving Chiyume alone started to weaken in force, and had it not been for Gaara's death-glares, they would have lost the debate against the others in no time.

Not that the two of them didn't try to help her, because they did, but the girl was obviously not interested in sharing information about the thing she had been forced to inhabit.

Gaara had been right in the fact that it wasn't a demon. The aura wasn't right, and according to the redhead, she wasn't able to communicate with it in the way Naruto and he had been able to communicate with their demons. Then of course, the way of communication had been different for both of them, and the fact that Chiyume hadn't been able to speak when the experiments were performed could have given her a completely different link to go by.

But, as long as Chiyume refused to tell them about it, they could sit around and speculate all they wanted. They wouldn't get any further anyway.

And to make matters even worse, they were starting to run out of time.

The council was getting impatient and Tsunade was the one who had to take responsibility, adding even more hostility to her already short tempered personality.

Things weren't looking good.

No one had mentioned the Hunters anymore, perhaps because they deep inside wanted to hope that they were gone, that they had returned to whatever darkness they had crawled out from.

Still, Neji and Hinata took turns in accompanying Chiyume at all times, being on the lookout for potential attacks or ambushes.

Naruto had asked Neji more than once why they should even bother, since they couldn't see or sense them anyway.

"It's just pointless." He had proclaimed with a snort, but Neji had just smirked at him.

"Not really. We can't see or sense their chakra, but we can still see their bodies. An empty body that moves around in a sea of chakra is pretty easy to spot."

"Oh... yeah, I guess that makes sense..."  
"Of course."

But they never saw anything. It was as if the Hunters really had disappeared.

At least for a while...

About a month after Neji got released from the hospital, he and Naruto were heading for the training grounds in the early afternoon.

Chiyume was walking a couple of steps in front of them, playfully kicking at the poor rocks that happened to get in her way.

Suddenly they heard someone call out behind them and saw Shikamaru calmly walking towards them.

"You guys sure are a pain to get hold of." He muttered and shoved his hands in his pockets before turning towards Neji.

"Tsunade wants to see you. Something about the poison-analysis from your wound. I'm filling in for you here until you get back."

Neji turned towards Naruto.

"Keep a look out."

Naruto grinned, formed a set of hand seals and then ten kage bunshins disappeared into the surrounding trees.

"I think we'll manage."

Neji nodded silently and in the next second he was gone.

Naruto gave Shikamaru a wondering look.

"Poison-analysis?" he asked as they started walking again.

Shikamaru sighed.

"Yeah. When they cleaned the wound at the hospital Tsunade spotted some kind of sticky substance and took a sample of it. Apparently it was some kind of poison, paralysing I think..."

He sighed and pulled up a pack of smokes from his pocket. Naruto frowned.

"I thought you said you were going to quit that?"

Shikamaru shrugged and lit a cigarette, putting the pack back into the front pocket of his jounin-vest.

"Old habit."

He took a long drag from the cigarette and exhaled with a huff.

Naruto frowned again and waved the smoke away, earning a small smile from Shikamaru.

"Wuzz." He smirked before suddenly turning serious again.

"How are things going?" he asked with a nod against Chiyume.

Naruto sighed.

"No change."

"So she's still haven't made contact with it then?"

Naruto stiffened but quickly relaxed again.

"Made contact with what?"

Shikamaru gave him a long, steady look.

"Naruto, do you think I'm stupid?"

"Eh... no, not really."

"Then you do realize that I've already figured out what's going on here, right?"

"Going on?"

Naruto looked at him, pretending to be oblivious. Perhaps Shikamaru was talking about something completely different than Naruto thought he was.

Shikamaru groaned and rolled his eyes towards the sky.

"Yes, _going on_. I'm quite surprised no one else has figured it out yet. They way you and that Gaara keeps fawning around her as if she was some sort of fragile porcelain-doll..."

Naruto tried to imagine Gaara doing such a thing as 'fawning', but the image he got was way too disturbing and he grimaced.

Shikamaru ignored him and continued;

"Then there's Gaara, snapping at people like a rabid dog as soon as they mention the words 'training' and 'Chiyume' in the same sentence. And you, working your ass off with smoothing out Gaara's outbursts and pretend like nothing's wrong."

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto as if he was expecting the blonde to object to his statement, but when Naruto kept quiet he just sighed.

"So, I started wondering; why would the two of you do that? What is it that you two and that girl have in common that makes you worry so much about her? The answer was pretty obvious."

He stopped walking and turned towards the blonde.

"She's not a jinchuuriki. Tsunade would have known if that was the case. So what is she Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Chiyume, considering lying about it and act stupid, but changed his mind when he met Shikamaru's stern look and sighed.

"We don't know." He waved his arm against the girl in front of them. "_She_ doesn't know."

Shikamaru took a new drag of his cigarette before dropping it to the ground and putting it out with the heel of his sandal.

"Then I assume that this training's not about making her transform, is it?"

Naruto shook his head and Shikamaru sighed again.

"Figures... So what are you planning to do about it?"

"We don't know. Gaara says..."

Suddenly Naruto's head snapped up and he whirled around, cursing silently while pulling out a kunai from his weapon pouch in the process.

The woods around them were completely silent, but Naruto's eyes were fixed on the shadows between the trees and in front of them Chiyume had taken the same crouching position as Naruto, staring out into the shadows with her teeth pulled up in a low snarl.

Shikamaru crouched down beside the blonde.

"What's wrong?"

"One of my clones just disappeared."

There was a loud bang from somewhere in front of them and Naruto's face wrenched in momentary pain.

"Make that two."

Shikamaru sighed, silently slipping his hands into the pair of trench knives in his own weapon pouch.

"How far?"

"Not more than two hundred feet, and they're closing in."

"You're sure it's them?"

"The clone caught a glimpse of one of them before it got destroyed. Though I wish it hadn't..."

Another loud _–poff–_ was heard.

"Three... One hundred feet"

Now they could hear the sharp sounds of twigs and branches breaking and Naruto cringed slightly.

"Four. Fifty feet. There's more than two of them."

"They're going to go for Chiyume first. We should make sure she's safe."

Naruto glanced at Chiyume, but shook his head.

"She'll be fine."

"We don't know if she can handle more than one of them at once."

"She can, but when she turns, we need to stay out of her way. Thirty feet."

Suddenly a fifth of Naruto's clones came flying out from a bush to their left, only to disappear in a cloud of smoke before it even hit the ground.

After that, everything went quiet.

Chiyume growled next to them, but quickly went silent as well.

It was the calm before the storm. No wind, no sound, no movement.

Naruto could feel his anxiousness build up inside him. Of all the times and places he would have picked for this, this time and place sure as hell wasn't it!

Next to him, Shikamaru was silently preparing to use his _Kage Nui_. If anything came out through those branches faster than he wanted it to, he would spear it with his own shadow.

More time passed.

Naruto felt a single drop of sweat roll down the nape of his neck and suppressed a shudder.

He wasn't feeling good about this. Not at all...

Considering what _one_ of those things did to Neji and Kiba... He didn't want to think about what the remaining ones could do to the three of them. Or at least to him and Shikamaru.

He glanced to the side to check on Chiyume and immediately choked on his own breath.

Chiyume was gone.

"Where did she-...!"

Then suddenly everything started happening all at once.

Four shadows came leaping out of the shadows around them. One came from the bushes Shikamaru had been targeting, and it immediately got run through by his shadow jutsu.

Naruto threw his kunai against one of the other three and he cringed when he heard the sickening wet slosh-sound when the blade hit its target.

They Hunters had not bothered with disguises this time. Their stench was overwhelming, and when one of them graced Naruto's arm as he dodged a hit, he almost felt like throwing up on the spot.

Shikamaru also jumped back, barely avoiding a throw against his head from one of the Hunters. He landed with his back against Naruto's and quickly scanned the area after a way out. Naruto throw a new kunai at one of their attackers, but it hardly did any damage at all.

"Where is she?!" he desperately tried to get a glimpse of Chiyume, but to no use.

"I don't know!"

Both broke apart to avoid being trapped in the quickly shrinking circle of enemies, Naruto to the left and Shikamaru to the right. When Naruto did a quick roll in an attempt to get to his feet again, he felt something grab hold of the back of his shirt and forcefully pull him up until he was standing again. He spun around and came face to face with Neji who was looking past him, out on the battlefield.

"Neji! When did you-...?"

"Get Shikamaru out of there, now."

"What?"

"She's buying us time, we have to move quickly. Get him out, now!"

Knowing the tone of that voice, Naruto did as he was told and quickly pulled up two new kunais from his pouch and sent them flying towards the back of the closest Hunter.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had gone from using shadow-techniques to close range combat. Swinging his knifes he cut through the enemies' bodies, sending slices of rotten meet flying through the air, defending himself in the best way he could.

But no matter how much he cut, or how many kunais Naruto threw, it didn't seem to faze them one bit. It was as if they couldn't even feel the cuts. Neji grabbed hold of Naruto's arm, just as he was about to pull up another set of kunais.

"Don't waste time on cutting them, it won't help. We have to get away from here."

"But Shikamaru ran one of them through with his-..." Naruto pointed to the place where the first Hunter had been speared, only to find the spot empty.

"I said it won't help. Now move!"

With a rough shove between the shoulder blades, Neji pushed him forward and towards the trees. The moment later Shikamaru joined them on the right side with, surprisingly enough, a smirk on his face.

"I got one of them." He said to Neji. "Cut the head off, just like you said."

Naruto looked back, and sure enough, where there had been five Hunters mere seconds ago, were now only four.

"Where's Chiyume?!" he shouted to Neji.

"Buying us time."

"Time for what?"

"To get away."

Naruto opened his mouth to ask him what that meant, but in that moment Neji stopped running. A split second later Naruto saw why.

Chiyume was standing in front of them. Or at least the thing that used to be Chiyume.

Her hair was hanging down in front of her face, messy and tangled. Her fingers were gone, replaced with claws that looked sharp enough to cut through solid rock. The patches of skin that showed through her clothes were covered with black stripes, and as she raised her head they saw that her face was in the same condition.

The two golden eyes were gleaming, and from the corners of her mouth, two canines had grown out from the upper jaw, also showing off a row of glimmering, razor-sharp teeth.

Naruto stared at her. What the hell..?

"Chiyume... what-?"

"Run..."

It was more like a growl than a human voice and Naruto almost took a step back from the ferocity it held.

Shikamaru threw a glance back and saw that the Hunters had stopped and was now watching them from a distance.

Neji just stared at her, seemingly forgetting about the situation they just left behind.

Naruto on the other hand, obviously was forgetting about the situation they just got into.

"Chiyume, you can't-..."

"Run."

"But-..."

"Can't... hold..."

Her claws did a sharp singing sound as they grazed one another and a low growl emitted from deep within her throat.

"Naruto, move!"

Shikamaru grabbed hold of Naruto's arm and pulled him to the side, merely a second before Chiyume suddenly leaped forward and past them. Neji threw himself in the other direction, swiftly rolling to his feet and standing up again.

In split seconds, Chiyume had reached the spot where the Hunters were waiting and in one swift movement the one Shikamaru had pierced earlier was lying on the ground, convulsing in violent death throws while its head was rolling in the grass less than six feet away.

The remaining three tried to corner her, but just when it looked as if she was trapped, she simply jumped into the air, slicing another one in half from the waist and up on the way.

She landed a few feet away and turned around to the remaining two with a vicious glare.

The Hunters quickly pulled back and started circling around her, careful to stay out of reach from Chiyume's claws.

It sounded as if they were speaking to her, low growling sounds that barely passed as human sounds, but from the distance Naruto and the others couldn't define what they were saying.

Then one of them did a leap forward and Chiyume immediately turned towards it, claws spread.

Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru saw it happen, but Chiyume who had turned her back towards the second one, did not.

The creature did a set of deformed hand seals and in next moment it disappeared in a whirl of black shadows. The first one who had attacked Chiyume from the front, immediately halted and then it disappeared as well.

Chiyume was left alone in the middle of an empty field with her claws still dripping fresh with blood and worse, suspiciously looking at the empty spot in front of her.

Naruto and the others immediately pulled out their weapons.

"Where did they go?"

Neji activated his byakugan and looked at the place where the two figures had been standing moments ago. Then he suddenly gasped.

"They're underground!"

Naruto looked up and saw Chiyume do some kind of jump to the side to avoid a fist that suddenly shot up from the ground, only to get punched in the back by the second Hunter who appeared behind her.

She fell forward, but managed to brace herself enough to keep from slamming her head into the ground.

She rolled over and aimed a kick against the Hunter's midsection, but got grabbed from underneath and pinned to the ground by the second one.

"Chiyume!"

Naruto made an attempt to move forward, but got caught by Neji who forcefully grabbed hold of him.

"Don't! She won't recognize you!"

"Let me go! She needs help!"

The Hunter raised a fist, and as they watched, it slammed it down into Chiyume's chest with almost calculated strength. Not enough to be fatal, but enough to cause unbearable pain.

"Chiyume!"

Another hit was launched at her face and with a violent throw Naruto managed to get out of Neji's grip and started running.

"Naruto!"

But Naruto didn't listen. He was too furious to listen.

They had no right.

_Cut the head off._

They had no god damn right!

_Just like you told me._

Cut the head off.

The beast raised its arm again and Naruto saw that it was now stained with blood.

He pulled up another kunai, his last, braced himself and with a furious growl he threw himself against the monster's back.

The Hunter saw him coming, of course, but that was also what Naruto had been expecting. When the creature threw its arm out to swipe him out of its way, Naruto ducked and rolled underneath it, landing next to Chiyume's body and cut of the hand that held her right arm captive.

A loud howl of pain was heard from underneath and then came a loud growl when Chiyume used her free hand to lash out upwards and slice the Hunter's throat in two.

Directly after that she grabbed hold of the wrist to the second hand holding her down.

Neji wasn't able to sense their chakra, but Chiyume was, and locating the head beneath her wasn't that hard.

While holding onto the hand, she thrusted her arm down into the earth and Naruto heard the sound when it continued into the head of the submerged Hunter. Then she spread her claws out and pulled her arm up, tearing the head off with her like a horrific, spiked fruit.

Naruto noticed with disgust how one of the claws had driven right through the left eye socket of the beast, leaving the eye oozing down the cheek like a raw egg, covered in dirt and gravel.

With a snarl she lashed her arm out, sending the head flying through the air.

"Chiyume, you-gah!"

Suddenly Naruto felt icy cold hands wrap around his throat and how he got lifted from the ground.

Chiyume tilted her head to the side and watched him struggle with wondering interest. A long cut ran from her cheek down to her chin, leaving a flow of blood in its wake.

Naruto heard Neji and Shikamaru scream something in the distance, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Chi-...let... go..."

He made a weak attempt to pry her hands of his neck, but to no use.

Chiyume's claws dug into the soft skin and slowly blood started trickle down, staining the orange on his jacket with crimson.

Chiyume's eyes were cold and raw, like a frozen lake that reflected the light of the setting sun. They held no recognition about who he was. The part of Chiyume who saw him as family was gone, replaced with this monster in front of him and Naruto felt his heart sink.

This was it. He was going to get his throat sliced by the same person who had been throwing her clothes at him only months ago.

"Chiyume!"

She turned her head to the sound of Neji's voice, but showed no intention of letting Naruto go. But that small gesture was enough to spark Naruto's failing flame of hope back to life.

She still responded to her name. Then she wasn't completely gone yet.

His breathing was suddenly cut of when Chiyume's grip tightened around him. From the corner of his eye he saw Neji and Shikamaru slow down their movements and how Neji took one careful step forward.

"Chiyume, please stop it. It's us, don't you remember?"

Naruto couldn't make out if Chiyume answered or not. His head was spinning from the lack of oxygen and his lungs felt as if they were burning up inside his chest.

He knew that he had to get out of this, but how? Keeping himself from passing out was hard enough. Of course there was one way of doing it, but he wasn't going to do _that_.

Never that he would use the Kyuubi against one of his friends, even if it was to save his own life.

But no matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn't manage to stay awake for much longer. The colours and shapes around him were fading, the sounds of his friend's voices growing distant...

_Think! What did he know about this thing?_

_What was it Gaara had said?_

'_It's not a demon... not human...'_

_Not human..._

That was the last thing he managed to think before darkness surrounded him and he found himself once again standing knee-deep in water in front of the Kyuubi's den.

--

--

"Fox! Come out here where I can see you!"

Glowing, red eyes peered out on him from the darkness and the Kyuubi's growling voice came rumbling from behind the metal bars.

"You're being pushy as usual, brat."

A gigantic paw emerged and then a second one, making the water ripple through the entire chamber.

"One would think you've ought to learn some manners by now."

Naruto glared at the demon.

"I need your help." He said harshly.

There was a low chuckle and a glimmer of sharp teeth being bared in a grin.

"So you've finally realized that you need my powers? Took you long enough, I believe."

"Shut up. I have no intention of using your chakra ever again. That's not what I'm here for."

He could feel the demon's grin fade, and how its mirth slowly sank away.

"I see. This is about that wildcat of yours."

"I need to talk to her."

"Then talk to her. You don't need me for that."

"You know what I mean, so don't act stupid. I need to talk to her in a place where that thing won't get in the way. I need a way of communication where she can actually hear me. Your going to give me that."

The giant fox snorted out a low laughter, which quickly grew to a new chuckle. Naruto narrowed his eyes, feeling impatience seethe inside him.

"What's so funny?" he snarled.

The fox chuckled again before locking his ruby eyes on him.

"You stupid kid. You're asking for the impossible. Such a contact can't me made."

"Why not?"

"The place you're seeking only exists inside one's mind. Only she knows what it looks like, and only she can enter it. I can't take you there more than I can get out of these wretched sewers you call body."

Naruto ignored the obvious insult and looked at the gigantic fox, an idea suddenly surfacing in his mind.

"But suppose that I _had_ access to her mind. Would you be able to do it then?"

A new lowering snort was heard from inside the cage.

"If you had access to her mind you wouldn't have to be here now, disturbing me with your stupid questions. You would have been able to do it yourself."

"Then tell me how to do that, and I'll leave you alone."

This time the Kyuubi let out a loud howling laughter that made the walls shake.

"It's amazing how thick you can be sometimes. If I hadn't been forced to live inside of you it could have been really amusing."

"Just get to the point!"

"You've already been shown how it's done, brat. Numerous times. That other jinchuuriki figured it out quickly enough, but then again he _is_ smarter than you."

This made Naruto blink.

"Gaara?"

"That stinking Bijuu's former vessel, yes. He has talked to her many times through that link of which you speak. You've seen it."

Suddenly a new rumble echoed through the chamber and the walls shook again, more violent this time.

"You better hurry, brat, or your precious kitten is going to tare you apart."

There was a slight hint of concern showing through the demon's calm remark which made Naruto snort.

"You just make sure to keep me alive, fox."

The Kyuubi growled, but Naruto was already fading again, back to the reality he had left behind.

The demon would keep him alive; he had no doubt about it. After all, its existence depended on whether Naruto lived or died.

He opened his eyes and was again faced with the multicoloured shapes of his surroundings. Neji and Shikamaru were standing in the same spots as before, and Chiyume hadn't moved either. As usual, the time in the Kyuubi's den had passed almost unnoticeable to the outside world.

Chiyume must have loosened the grip around his throat, allowing him to breathe at least a bit easier, but he didn't want to bet any money on how long he would have that privilege.

He needed to act fast, or he might not get a second chance.

The worst part was that he had no idea of how he was going to do it, except for...

Somehow he managed to raise his hands and wrap them around Chiyume's lower arm, not being sure about if the claws drawing blood from his neck counted as skin.

At the sudden contact Chiyume turned her head away from Neji and Shikamaru and looked at the hands with an almost lowering expression, then she raised her head and looked him in the eyes.

Gold filled up his vision. Predatory, yellow orbs that pierced into his very soul, and then his lungs clenched in sudden pain.

He couldn't breathe; his throat was being constricted once again, harder and more painful than before.

He couldn't breathe...

He had to... he needed to...

Chiyume...

'_Chiyume.'_

Gold... golden green and yellow...

'_Chiyume.'_

'_Naruto?'_

The grip around his neck suddenly loosened.

'_Naruto... what-...?'_

Confusion.

Fear.

Golden and green...

'_Chiyume, let me go.'_

Insight.

Terrible, horrible Insight...

Golden... Green...

'_It's over, they're dead. Everything's alright now.'_

Green.

Chiyume blinked a couple of times, as if she had just woken up from a very confusing dream, and then her eyes widened when they focused on Naruto, who she still held raised into the air by the throat.

With a terrified gasp she let go of him, making him unceremoniously drop to the ground.

"Naruto!"

Shikamaru and Neji quickly rushed to his side, their hearts dropping at the sight of all the blood that came flowing from the cuts in his neck.

Chiyume stared at them, at the blood and then she looked around on the grotesque scene around them. The bodies, already half vaporized, the blood staining the ground.

As in chock she slowly raised her already turning hands and stared at the crimson liquid that covered them and then back to Naruto who had stopped coughing and gasping for air and was now sitting up, watching her through teary eyes.

"Chiyume... I..."

Her eyes began to flicker around and her breath suddenly went ragged.

"Chiyume, its alright."

He tried to reach out for her, but she jerked away from his hand with a weak whimper.

Neji and Shikamaru looked at each other and then back to the girl, who obviously was about to have a hysterical attack. Shikamaru slowly stood up and held up his hands, palms facing out.

"Chiyume, listen to me. None of this was your fault. Do you understand? _None of this_ was your fault."

She stared at him and Naruto could see that she wasn't registering a word that he was saying. With her eyes till flickering she took a step backwards, away from them. Then another one.

"Chiyume..."

When Naruto spoke, she suddenly turned around and darted away towards the trees.

"Chiyume!" He tried to get up and go after her, but as he did, everything started spinning and Neji had to catch him to prevent him from falling over.

"You shouldn't move. You've lost a lot of blood."

"But she..."

"She'll be fine. This isn't the first time she's disappeared like that. Right now we need to get you to the hospital. Shikamaru, give me a hand here."

Shikamaru nodded and together they hoisted Naruto up and laid his arms over their shoulders, allowing them to carry him somewhat. He sure wasn't in any condition of walking by himself.

"Chiyume... I have to..." his voice broke and he started coughing madly, making new lines of blood stream down his severed neck.

Neji looked at him

"She'll be back. Don't worry."

But Naruto saw how he turned to the side and gave Shikamaru a long, doubtful look and how Shikamaru slowly shook his head in reply and then the exhaustion finally became too much and he fell back into the soft, velvety darkness.

* * *


	17. Sidetracked

**Chapter 16 - Sidetracked**

The first thing he noticed was how dry his mouth felt.

A split second after that when he tried to swallow he discovered the pulse that was banging viciously on the inside of his skull and the sudden pain made him gasp loudly. The sudden intake of breath then in turn ran through his dried out throat and the assumed cool air he took in instead felt like scorching fire on the inside of his lungs, making him burst out in a vicious coughing fit which only poured fuel on the fire for his already soar throat..

The air in the room was thick with the sanitary smells of hospital, and distantly, as if his senses were still half shut down, he could feel the soft texture of the beddings that covered him as he tried to shift his body.

Once the coughing diminished he slowly opened his teary eyes and squinted against the light of the moon that was shining in through the open window. With a groan he quickly shut them against the sharp light, feeling how his vocal cords sent new signals of pain through his system.

What the hell happened?

He tried to turn his head the other way, but found that something was restricting his movements and as he reached up he could feel the soft texture of the bandages that were wrapped around his neck brush against his fingertips.

This time he ignored the pain that came from his loud gasp.

The Hunters.

Neji and Shikamaru.

Golden, vicious eyes...

_Chiyume...! What happened to Chiyume?!_

"You're awake."

Naruto opened his eyes again and managed to make out the blurry, but familiar silhouette that was now sitting perched on the windowsill.

"Gaara..." He cut himself off and tried to swallow again in an instinctive attempt to remedy the pain in his throat, but without any result.

Gaara watched as the blonde then proceeded with trying to sit up, but didn't show any signs of stepping in to help. If Naruto was strong enough to try sitting up on his own, then he surely was strong enough to succeed as well. Gaara knew better than anyone that the blonde didn't need, didn't _want_ to be pampered with.

Once Naruto had managed to get up in a position somewhat resembling upright he had also discovered another ten or twenty movements that made every single nerve in his body almost go catatonic from pain. He took another second or two to get his mind under control before he turned back towards Gaara, thinking about how he would express himself with as few sounds as possible.

"How long?" he asked hoarsely.

"Five days tomorrow."

Naruto felt his heart sink at the low tone of his friend's voice.

"Chiyume?" he whispered.

Gaara shook his head slowly.

"We're searching."

"You mean... Nothing?"

Naruto sank back against the pillows with a discouraged look at the sand ninja.

Gaara shook his head again and then turned his face to the window.

The clear moonlight reflected itself in his eyes and gave his pale skin a soft shimmer as he gazed out into the night.

He could feel Naruto's eyes on him, but didn't have the energy to give the blonde the "bugger-off" glare that he usually would have.

In fact he didn't' have the energy or motivation to glare enough to repel as much as a mouse.

The truth was that Gaara was worried. _Very_ worried...

Not that Chiyume had been gone for three days, that wasn't an issue. She could take care of herself, she had proved that to them more than once.

She could hide - of course she could since none of them could find her - and she could fight, better than any enemy she could possibly run into.

No, the thing that worried him was the fact that he couldn't _sense_ her.

Even when he had been in the Earth Country he had been able to sense her. He had been able to tell when something had been wrong and she had been able to do the same about him.

But now, it was all blank. As if she had simply disappeared from the face of the earth.

He felt as if someone had taken a part of his soul and replaced it with some kind of dark, numb emptiness and that feeling was more worrying than anything he had ever felt before.

The only thing that he could think of that could cause her presence to disappear in such a way would be if she was already dead.

He didn't want to imagine or even think about such a possibility, but the coldness in his chest kept growing with every single hour that passed by without any news.

She couldn't be dead, there had to be some other explanation.

There had to be.

From the bed Naruto watched his friend's empty facial expression with a growing feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach.

Chiyume was gone and it was his fault.

If he hadn't interfered she wouldn't have hurt him in the first place.

It was his fault.

"Gaara, I'm sorry."

Gaara looked away from the window and gave him a confused glance, but didn't say anything. Naruto obviously hadn't expected an answer in the first place either because he quickly continued;

"If I had stayed back she would never have attacked me. She wouldn't have panicked like that... I... It's my fault that she's missing."

Gaara gave him a long look before returning his eyes to the night sky.

"You're right." He said flatly and Naruto's stomach clenched, but he barely had time to feel any massive amounts of guilt before Gaara continued in a sharper tone that held absolutely no mercy;

"If you had stayed back, she would be dead. As would you. Don't insult her by saying that you're sorry for saving both of your lives."

Naruto blinked in confusion a couple of times before the Kazekage's words finally sank into his still dazed – and probably medically drugged- mind.

"Oh..." he said sheepishly, earning a softer glance from the other boy.

"Indeed."

They were quiet for a while, Naruto feeling like sinking through the floor out of embarrassment, and Gaara giving his friend some time to gather himself.

"Gaara..." Naruto's voice was quiet, as if he didn't even want to think about the question he was about to ask.

"What if we can't find her? What if she doesn't come back?"

Gaara clenches his jaws, aware about that Naruto had just pointed out what he himself didn't want to think about.

"Tsunade has posed an ANBU-squad to search for her, both inside the village and outside it. If they can't find her, then she's simply isn't here anymore. Until they find her we can only wait."

Naruto scowled slightly.

"What do you mean 'can only wait'? We're searching for her as well, aren't we?"

"The Hyuuga siblings are helping the ANBU scanning the area, other than that Tsunade has ordered the rest of us to stay back."

Gaara's eyes darkened as he said the last part, and Naruto suspected that it had been a very long and lively discussion about the "staying back" part. He threw a quick, unconscious glance out the window to see if the Hokage building was still standing, but couldn't see it from his spot in the bed.

"But what about you? She can't order you to do anything, can she? You can search all you want."

Gaara solemnly shook his head.

"As Kazekage I can't defy a direct order from her as long as I'm here. It could cause serious damage to the stability between our countries."

"What do you mean 'cause damage'? You think Tsunade would actually start a war or something because of that? Besides, you've gone against her before remember? You said that Tsunade couldn't order you around, I heard you."

"Back then we had no proof that Chiyume posed as a threat. Now we do. And the war would not be started by Tsunade, but the council." His voice momentarily got filled with disgust as he continued. "The betrayal of my father is still remembered by people here, and considering my past they are all just waiting for a reason to put me in the same line as him. I can't risk it, for the sake of my country..."

Naruto nodded silently. He had almost forgotten about that there was politics involved in this as well. To him Gaara was just Gaara, not a Kazekage, just as he had always seen Tsunade as just Tsunade...

"I still don't understand...Why does Tsunade want us to stay back? If anyone should be out there searching for Chiyume it should be us! She trusts us; with the ANBU she'll never-..."

"That's the reason we're staying back."

Gaara locked eyes with Naruto.

"Chiyume may trust us, but right now she doesn't even trust herself. There's a risk that she'll go as far as to hurt us just to keep us alive and away from her, whether it's needed or not."

The image of terrified, green eyes flashed through Naruto's memory and he nodded silently.

If Chiyume thought that she might accidentally loose control and hurt someone again she wouldn't just _let_ them find her. And as Gaara said, there was a high possibility that she would put up a fight just to make sure that didn't happen.

Naruto groaned and closed his eyes.

A sudden image of a hissing brown/red cat appeared before him and he almost smiled in spite of himself.

It was silly, but somehow this reminded him about that stupid mission from when they were younger where they had to chase around and find that mad psycho-cat and return it to its owner.

The fact that that particular mission had stuck so well with him was no wonder, since he had been the one who had gotten clawed at the most and almost bled to death, while Shino, Hinata and Kiba had done it in no time and - on top of it all - gotten away without a single scratch because Akamaru had sniffed the cat out and then Hinata had just simply picked it up. The damn cat hadn't even hissed at her!

Team seven had spent almost an entire day locating the stupid fur ball in the first place... Sakura had scolded him and Sasuke... well he had been the same asshole as he always were only... worse.

This situation was almost the same, only this time the cat was a lethal half-demon-girl and they were not that likely to find her curled up in a dark alley or abandoned house were anyone could just walk in and-...

The pillow behind his head almost rocketed of the bed when he suddenly sat up straight with eyes wide in realisation.

Gaara slowly turned away from the window and looked at him again, waiting for an explanation to the sudden ruckus.

Naruto's brain was quickly processing all the possibilities, the yes and noes in his reasoning, trying to decipher what his subconscious had already told him.

After a while he bit down thoughtfully on his lip and scowled.

"Gaara... The ANBU... they're not... searching for an animal, right?"

The redhead by the window shook his head in negative and Naruto felt his pulse speed up slightly. He could tell that Gaara knew what he was thinking about.

"Then... maybe..." He looked at his friend. "You think it would work?"

A shrug was the only answer he got and then the Kazekage turned around and headed for the door, but just as he was about to close the door behind him he stopped and gave Naruto a long look.

"You should go for a walk tomorrow. You look like you could use some fresh air." And as a second thought he then casually added. "You might also want to bring Inuzuka and that dog of his along. Just for the company, of course."

And then he closed the door.

--

--

"Oy! Kiba! Are you awake in there!?"

Kiba groaned and rubbed his eyes. What was the ruckus all about?

He began to roll over and hide his head underneath his pillow, but then unceremoniously fell to the floor with a startled yelp when the edge of the bed suddenly disappeared from underneath him and he was lost in a blur of white sheets.

"Kiba! Wake up and get your ass down here!"

Kiba somehow managed to untangle himself from his sheets, cursing under his breath and stalked up to the open window and glared down at the blonde who was currently pestering his front yard.

"What do you want?" he snarled.

"Get dressed and get out here. Bring Akamaru. We're going to find Chiyume."

Kiba rolled his eyes at the sky and leaned against the windowsill.

"Give it up, Naruto. It's been almost five days. If she was still around the ANBU would have found her by now."

"Sure, if they knew what to look for in the first place." Naruto snorted.

Kiba gave him a sceptical look.

"And you... do?" he asked without any greater conviction.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Now get your ass down here and I might even explain it to you."

"All right, all right, I'm coming..." Kiba muttered and disappeared from the window.

Moments later the two of them were heading out from the Inuzuka district followed closely by Akamaru.

"So what's this great theory of yours?" Kiba half yawned as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well... do you remember the mission when we were chasing that cat? Right after we left the academy?"

Kiba grinned widely.

"Of course. We kicked your asses that time, didn't we?"

Naruto grimaced and decided to ignore the comment.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, but I was thinking about it yesterday, and I sort of thought about something..."

Kiba glanced at him.

"Which was...?"

Naruto stopped and kicked at a rock that was lying by his feet, trying to figure out how to explain it without being called an idiot as usual.

"The ANBU have been ordered to search for a girl, right, but... Chiyume, I mean technically she isn't really a _girl_ is she?"

Kiba frowned a little but then he shrugged.

"I guess not." He said simply.

"Yeah, cause when you think about it... Chiyume's actually more of... of a cat, right?"

Kiba blinked

_- What are you thinking bringing a feline like her into a dog's pack -_

but he didn't have any time to speak, because now Naruto's tongue had geared up in order to put the idea into words as quickly as possible.

"So you know, I thought that if the ANBU's searching for a girl, when what they really _should_ be searching for is a cat, that would pretty much leave them barking up the wrong tree if you know what I mean. So I came to think about how you guys found that cat back then so easy, and I thought that this situation must be pretty much the same... theoretically speaking."

He looked at Akamaru who was standing next to them, listening intently to what he was saying.

"So, I though that if you guy's could use that sense of smell of yours, then we might actually find her."

Akamaru barked and wagged his tail confirming, but Kiba still looked doubtful.

"I don't know, Naruto... Tsunade basically ordered us to stay out of the search. If we go of snooping around by ourselves she'll probably throw a fit. Why don't you just give this theory to the ANBU?"

"_Because,_ Chiyume's been living in _your_ house ever since she got out of the hospital. If there's any dog in Konoha who can sniff her out, Akamaru's the one, and you're his partner."

Kiba looked at Akamaru who was still wagging his giant tail at them.

"Okay, I see your point there. But that still doesn't explain why _you're_ tagging along."

Naruto's posture suddenly grew stiff and his eyes turned hard as he lowered them to stare down at the ground by his feet.

"Because I'm the one responsible for loosing her in the first place and I'm going to bring her back."

There was a long silence and Kiba almost felt stupid for asking such a question.

He knew what the other meant, and he couldn't say that he wasn't eager to follow up on the blonde's idea. He had been furious to hear that they were suspended from the search, as had the others, but Tsunade was Tsunade and when even Gaara had agreed to stand back, there hadn't been much they could do.

"So... it's just us then? We're not telling the others?"

"No. That would be drawing to much attention to ourselves."

Then the blonde suddenly straightened up and fired off a beaming smile.

"Besides, we're just out for a walk, right? No one can blame us for finding her by accident."

Kiba simply grinned back and fell in with the other's steps as they started walking again.

"So were do we start?" he asked.

"Were we last saw her – at the training grounds."

The trail was old by now, but as Naruto had suspected, Akamaru had no trouble whatsoever sniffing it out.

They followed it through the woods and even now, days after, they could still see clearly which path Chiyume had followed. Broken branches and deep slash marks from her claws were cut deeply into the tree's stems lining out the path. Naruto noticed a dark dried-in substance that had been smeared of onto the leaves of a nearby bush and the ground beside it showed evident signs that she had stumbled into it while running.

"She wasn't thinking very clearly was she?" Kiba asked from behind him, also looking at the bloodstained plant with a pained expression.

"I don't believe she was thinking at all..." Naruto mumbled and let his eyes linger on a large bloodstain adorning the ground a few feet away.

Up ahead of them Akamaru barked at them and they kept following the path deeper into the woods.

Chiyume's trail didn't seem to follow any distinctive path, instead it almost felt as if she had been running down in circles in pure confusion, but something in the back of Naruto's head told him that it wasn't true. Chiyume had panicked and the slash marks on the surrounding trees also proved that the beast inside her had taken over once again while she was running.

If that creature had any relation to the animal Naruto thought it had, this zigzagging through the forest wasn't made in confusion and panic as much as it was a defensive manoeuvre to keep potential followers at a distance.

Therefore he didn't get the slightest surprised when the trail suddenly did a sharp one hundred and twenty degree turn and headed back towards town, only to then disappear without a trace after only a couple of feet. Suddenly all the broken twigs and demolished trees they had been following earlier simply disappeared and had it not been for Akamaru's sharp sense of smell they would probably never had managed to follow it.

"This must've been where the ANBU split up. They said that the trail had ended and been impossible to pick up again." The dog-nin threw a glance at Naruto. "It's weird isn't it? That the ANBU didn't come up with the idea of using dogs to find it again? It's like the oldest trick in the book."

Naruto nodded absentmindedly and silently scraped his foot over the ground, covering up a very, very small print of a paw.

There _had_ been a dog here. A very small one.

"Paku..." he mumbled to himself.

If Paku had been here... Then Kakashi-sensei... but...?

"Let's go." He gestured to Kiba and together they headed in between the bushes, down a path that obviously didn't get regular visits from humans.

Earlier Chiyume had been following alongside with the Konoha River towards the main gate, probably to make it seem as if she was going to leave town, but as Naruto had suspected, that had all been a diversion.

She wasn't stupid, that's for sure.

As they got closer to the centre of town the two of them slowed down and set a more normal conversation-while-walking pace while Akamaru sniffed around and followed Chiyume's sent. Naruto wasn't sure, but he could've sworn that the big dog was doing it's best to look like any ordinary dog out on a walk, and he almost smiled in spite of the situation they were in at the thought of an acting dog.

They made it through town without receiving any suspicion and soon they began moving faster again, not wanting to waste any time.

The street they were following basically lead straight through the entire Konoha village, going in a diagonal angle from the main street almost all the way to the Hyuuga district.

Kiba couldn't help but to notice that... when Chiyume made the turn up in the woods, she had been heading in the exact same angle as this street, as if she had been aiming on it from the start.

But, why would she go to the Hyuuga's? To Neji, sure, he could understand that, but Neji had said that he hadn't seen any signs of her...

This particular area of town which they were in now was very desolate, and the three of them were the only living things moving around on the wide street.

Almost nobody lived here nowadays and it was used mainly as storing facilities and such.

It was actually a pretty creepy place...thinking about what happened here...

Akamaru suddenly froze dead in the middle of the street and raised his head to the sky, sniffing madly and then he turned and gave them a low bark and a wag with his tail before he disappeared into a narrow alley.

"He's got something!" Kiba immediately took off after the dog and Naruto wasn't one to waste any time in following them.

Akamaru led them through the alley and then down the next street before taking a new turn through a new alley and it definitively seemed as if he actually _was_ on to something.

However, the further they went, the more Naruto felt how a knot began to build up in his chest and he suddenly wished that Akamaru would stop and give them a sad little whimper to let them know he had been wrong, or even turn around completely.

_Please, let this be another sidetrack, please let it be another sidetrack, please..._

He didn't want her to be here. She could be anywhere else, but not here, not in this place, not alone. Anywhere else, just not here.

Then Akamaru stopped.

They were standing in the middle of a wide street with houses rowed up on both sides of it.

Empty, dark windows stared down at them accusingly as if they were intruders who had dared to disturb their eternal slumber of disrepair.

Pieces of Japanese paper lanterns and other various items were scattered in the corners of the streets and torn pieces of yellow police barrier tape with the almost unreadable words "Do Not Cross" written on them fluttered in the wind.

Naruto felt his heart sink as he turned his head and saw the clan symbol that marked the entrance to the district further down the street.

Kiba looked around with wide eyes and Naruto knew that his friend felt the same unpleasant feeling as he did.

"Naruto...This is..."

"The Uchiha district." Naruto ended. "I know..."

He turned and looked at Akamaru.  
"Which house?"

The big dog immediately headed down one of the side streets and then he stopped in front of one of the houses, making Naruto almost want to scream.

Of course it had to be that house... it just had to be.

"Naruto..." Kiba said low.

"I know."

"But why...? I mean this is almost... scary."

Naruto took a deep breath and then he resolutely slid the door open and stepped inside.

"I know."

--

--

The house was quiet.

Not even the floorboards creaked as he sat down his foot on the inside of the door.

They didn't call out a greeting as they entered. Mostly because they didn't want to startle Chiyume if she was still there, but they also had a very strong feeling that this house didn't require a greeting. At least not from them.

Akamaru led them up the small staircase in the hallway without any hesitation and once again Naruto felt his chest clench.

There were two doors in the hallway above and Akamaru stopped outside the one to the left.

With a silent glance at Naruto Kiba slid up to the door and pressed his ear against it while the blonde almost held his breath in waiting for the report.

"Someone's in there. I can hear breathing." Kiba whispered and straightened up. "What do you want to do?"

Naruto looked at him as if he was stupid.

"What do you mean? We're going in of course." He hissed back.

"Are you sure about that?" Kiba asked. "Naruto, the one behind this door might be the same thing that gave you that wound on your neck." He pointed at the bandages that were still covering the blonde neck and throat.

"Are you sure you want to go in there alone without telling anyone about it first?"

Naruto looked at the door.

Green eyes flashed before his eyes. Green, terrified, hurt eyes.

"Yes I am."

Kiba sighed and then he placed his hand on the handle.

"I can't believe I'm doing this..." he mumbled to himself. "On three then, slowly..."

Naruto nodded and resisted the urge to reach for a kunai.

"One... Two..."

"Three."

Slowly, and as quiet as possible in order not to startle the one inside the room, Kiba pressed the handle down and opened the door, and Naruto peeked his head in.

For a couple of seconds his brain simply refused to take in what he saw, and once it did he just wanted to scream.

_No._

Blood.

_No, no, no..._

Blood everywhere.

He could hear Kiba make a horrified gasp next to him when he also saw the scene displayed in front of them, at the sight of the thick crimson liquid that had been smeared on the floorboards, the walls, the furniture...

Sharp, shallow sounds made Naruto turn his head to the left and had the doorframe not been there for him to lean on he would have stumbled to the floor from the shock.

Chiyume was sitting in the corner underneath the windowsill, half leaning, half lying against the wall. She was dirty and both mud and blood had dried into big clods and knots in her midnight black hair

Her eyes were only open halfway and her breath was irregular and ragged, as if she was struggling to breathe. She held her arms folded tightly against her blood-soaked body and her lips were moving as if she was trying to speak.

"Naruto her hands... holy shit, look at her hands..."

Long, deep cuts ran from the base of her elbows down to her wrists, and as Naruto watched he saw Chiyume raise a hand and slowly dig her blunt nails into the wounds and claw into the skin, making a new gush of blood flood down her arm and drip onto the floor.

_Animals belongs in cages..._

Raspy. Like sand running down an hourglass... Whispering...

The hand was raised a second time and the wet sound of blood hitting floor was heard again.

_Animals belongs in cages..._

Animals...

What animals?

What was she talking about?

Then came the sudden realisation when Naruto's brain registered that it was the girl in front of him that was speaking, and reality instantly came crashing back down on him like a bucket of cold water.

Seconds after that, his entire system got overrun with adrenaline.

"Chiyume!"

He was by her side in an instant, catching her in his arms just when her eyes rolled back into her head and her body began to fall over as she lost consciousness.

_Nononononono!_

"Get Sakura!" he yelled at Kiba, who were still standing in the doorway completely frozen in shock. "Hurry!"

Kiba blinked in confusion and then he immediately turned and bolted down the stairs with Akamaru following closely behind.

Naruto stared down at the blood that was now also covering his hands and clothes.

What was he supposed to do?! He was no medic; he didn't know how to treat injuries!

Millions of rules and instructions were flashing through his head as he tried his best to remember what he had learned during his shinobi years, but somehow nothing seemed to make any sense as panic took complete control over his mind.

_OkaynevermoveaninjuredpersonbutImalreadyholdingherdoesthatmeanIcantlethergowhatifKibacantfinsSakuraoriftheydontmakeitbackhereintimewhatshouldIdoifsomeonecomesorifshewakesupwhatshouldIdowhatshouldIdo _what should I do_!?_

He heard the front door slam open and how the sound of Kiba's running footsteps quickly disappeared down the street.

Maybe he should have told him to get Tsunade instead? But that would mean that he would have to go to the Hokage tower, and there were always ANBU stationed outside Tsunade's office. If the ANBU heard about that Chiyume was here they would just come and take her away. They would _kill_ her!

His breath caught in his throat as another, dry voice sounding awfully much like the Kyuubi's made itself heard in the back of his head.

_That's if she's not already dead._

Dead...?

He stared terrified down at the lifeless body in his arms and felt how a bitter, sour taste almost managed to squeeze its way up his throat.

Dead? Was she dead?

Reaching out a hand that was shaking like a leaf towards the girl's neck he hesitated only a split second, scared of what he might find, and then he swiftly pressed two fingers against the soft skin and checked for a pulse.

She was alive.

Instincts told him to check to see if she was breathing as well and he quickly lowered his head so that his ear was hovering over her mouth. Holding his own breath he then almost sobbed with relief when he felt the small tingling of air ghosting over his skin.

"Thank God... Oh, thank God..."

The other, panicked voice in his head was still rambling on like crazy, but it slowly started to get drowned out by some kind of numb calmness that lowered itself over his mind.

A sensible, almost grownup consciousness simply took command, telling him that he didn't have time to panic.

He needed to get her off the floor.

Reaching his arms around her he raised her up as gently as possible and he wasn't at all surprised to find that her weight resembled that of a small child than anything else.

But even if the girl's weight were almost close to nothing, his own feet and arms felt as if they were made out of led.

Willing himself to move he began crossing the room, each step being both a physical and mental challenge. The floor was slippery from all the blood, but he somehow managed to make his way to the bed without falling and gently placed her on the dusty covers.

He absentmindedly ripped off a piece of the sheets and used it to dry off some of the blood that had been smudged out on her face.

How long had she been at this place? Ever since that day? Or had she been somewhere else in the meantime and just gotten here recently?

Instantly another thought made the blood in his veins grow ice cold.

What if they hadn't come looking for her? What if she had killer herself while they stayed back as they had been told and let the ANBU do the searching?

Brushing away loose strands of the black hair from Chiyume's face he suddenly didn't know if he should be feeling happy about finding her or mad because he didn't do so sooner.

From the look of the room she seemed to have been here for quite some time, even if the bed looked as good as untouched. Footprints of naked feet had been made in the thick layer of dust that covered the floor, some partially hidden underneath puddles of blood.

It appeared as if she had been pacing

_-inacage likeananimalinacage likeananimal-_

around the room for quite some time before a small line of stumbling footprints broke out of the mess of dust and blood and over to the corner where she had been sitting when they found her.

There were no prints leading away.

How long had she been sitting there?

Those wounds on her arms had not been done simply over night that much he could tell. It had taken time for those nails to scratch through her skin, and from the looks of it, the work had been done by _human_ nails. Not claws.

Gently lifting up one of the abused hands he tried to pad some of the blood away, but even the light touch from the sheet made the wound break up and new blood began seeping from the scars.

"You idiot..." he mumbled. "What have you done...?"

For some reason he couldn't decide if he was talking to the girl or to himself.

After what felt like ages Kiba and Akamaru returned with Sakura in following.

The moment she stepped inside the room she switched into what Kiba once teasingly had called the "Tsunade-mode" and began giving the two males orders and instructions with a voice that simply held no room for arguments.

Naruto was sent away to fetch some hot water for the wounds. She made it clear that she didn't care where he got it or what kind of excuse he had to use, as long as it was clean and came in large quantities.

Kiba and Akamaru were then sent away to fetch bandages, which would be easier to explain than Naruto's water, since bandages where frequently used as protection for hands and feet in taijutsu training.

Then after successfully getting rid of the two, she proceeded with the task of examining Chiyume's injuries.

She carefully peeled off the pitiful remains of Chiyume's blood drenched clothes and discovered an ugly, blue-black bruise that covered most of the left side of the girl's ribcage. Sakura didn't exactly have to rely on any medic skills to be able to tell that that blow had _hurt_.

After the quick examination she then gently draped the covers of the bed over the girl's body and made a quick mental recess of the situation.

The arms luckily looked worse than they actually were, and even though the girl had lost a lot of blood she had not harmed any vital blood vessels in either of the two limbs.

However, it appeared as if at least one of her ribs was broken, and healing that would take it's time, no matter what techniques she used.

Kiba returned first with the bandages, but it took Naruto almost half an hour before he returned with the water.

Being Naruto, he had gone to the place where he usually went when he was feeling stressed out – Ichiraku Ramen.

"It took some time to get all the water boiled up, but I think this will be enough." He panted out when he sat down a huge pot of steaming water on the floor next to the bed.

Kiba stared at the water and then at the blonde.

"What on earth did you tell them in order to make them help you with that?"

Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"I told them that my water pipes broke down so that I couldn't get any hot water to do my laundry... And I sort of managed to make them boil some up for me." he gave the two of them a sheepish smile and laughed again.

Sakura rolled her eyes at him but in the back of her head she actually though it was a pretty smart lie.

Naruto's apartment didn't exactly belong to the top ten best housings in Konoha and stuff like pipe problems and roof leakages were pretty common there.

With a slight sting she realised that she had never really thought about how Naruto lived, even though they had been on the same team for so long. He _did_ live in a pretty rough neighbourhood, and he wasn't exactly packing any money... It wasn't like he had any parents who could help him out with the rent... or the cooking... or the cleaning... or the laundry...

She gave the blonde a sharp look.

"And they didn't think it was weird that you asked _them_ for help out of all people?" she asked.

For a split second Naruto's smile faded only to return in full strength just as fast.  
"Nah... they don't think it's that weird..." he grinned and thus confirmed Sakura's suspicions.

This wasn't the first time Naruto had asked the people at Ichiraku's for help.

Coming to think of it, they had taken care of him almost as much as Iruka sensei had when they were kids. They had probably treated him to ramen just as much as their old teacher had...

She looked away from the blonde in front of her and that beaming smile of his.

His childhood had been far from normal, Sakura knew that. Of course she knew.

The mental torture he had been put through... Everybody knew.

Teuchi and Ayame had never judged him for being a... being different. There was no wonder he turned to them for help.

It was with light surprise she realised that her eyes were tearing up and she quickly turned to the unconscious girl in the bed before any of the other two noticed anything.

"I want the two of you to leave the room." She said clearly and grabbed the corner of the sheet covering Chiyume as if to prove a point.

"What are you going to do?" Naruto asked and gave Chiyume's face a worried look.

"I'm going to treat her injuries, Naruto, what do you think?" she answered a bit annoyed.

"But do you really need to... you know... undress her? Can't you just...?" The blonde did a vague waving motion with his hands in an imitation of a medic jutsu.

Sakura shook her head.

"No. If I do that there's a big risk that the ANBU will sense my chakra and come investigating. Until she's movable we can't afford that to happen."

Naruto nodded and then he threw a last look at Chiyume's pale face before he walked out of the room followed closely by Kiba and Akamaru.

--

--

"She's stabile, but I can't tell how long she'll have to stay here before we can move her."

The three of them were sitting on the porch on the back of the house. Sakura was washing her hands in the rest of the warm water Naruto had brought her while she explained the situation to them.

Naruto looked on in fascination how the clear water in the basin got coloured light pink from the blood that mixed with it from each new dip Sakura's hands made.

_Chiyume's blood._ He though and fisted his hands at his sides.

"So one of us will have to stay behind tonight and watch her." Sakura continued. "After that we'll take turns. I doubt that she'll have any strength to attack anyone if she wakes up, so we won't have to do it in pairs. Besides, it will seem less suspicious if we're not all missing at the same time." She ended thoughtfully.

Naruto nodded absentmindedly with his eyes still fixed on the water in the basin.

Kiba didn't say anything, but Akamaru wailed a little and placed his head in his owner's lap with a sigh.

Once Sakura's hands were clean again she took the basin into the kitchen and dumped the entire content in the sink. Once the horrible fluid had disappeared down the drain she felt as if a giant weight had been lifted from her heart. She was a medic and blood had never done much to faze her, but somehow this was different. This blood had been so uncalled for. So _unfair_.

She turned around to go back outside again when she noticed that Naruto had followed her into the kitchen and was now standing leaning against one of the cupboards beside the doorway.

He had been staring down at the floor, but when she turned around he raised his eyes and looked at her and in that moment she knew exactly what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth.

"Why here?" he asked bluntly, holding his arms crossed over his chest. "Of all the places she could have hidden, why here?"

Sakura didn't know what to answer. The question had been nagging on the inside of her skull ever since she realised where Kiba was taking her, but she had not had the time to think about it yet.

"I don't know." She said quietly. "Maybe because it's so desolate?"

But she knew that wasn't true. And so did Naruto, because he resolutely shook his head.

"No. That's not it."

He suddenly gave a frustrated roar and turned around and kicked at the wall so hard it left a big mark in the solid wood.

"It's not _fair_!" he yelled. "Why the hell did they have to chase after her?! Why couldn't they just have left her _alone_!?"

He enhanced the last word with yet another kick which left an almost identical mark in the wall next to the first one.

"This would never have happened if they could have just. Left. Her. Alone."

Sakura watched as the usually so mild boy in front of her drove his fist into the doorframe, leaving a light trail of blood on the wood as the skin on his knuckles split.

"Naruto, stop it!"

He turned towards her and for a moment she felt her heart stop beating in her chest and took a terrified step back against the sink.

Because that look he had in his eyes did not belong to Naruto.

They were filled with the exact same feelings of unfairness and anger that she felt herself, the same horrible state of being helpless and unable to do anything. But behind the blue surface she could sense something else as well. Red and burning like fire, moving restlessly, longing to be released and _hurt_ something, _destroy_ anything.

Red had begun to bleed into cobalt blue irises and the image it created reminded her so much about the water she had just poured out in the sink behind her when she had dipped the first blood drenched band aid into it that she almost whimpered.

That look scared her more than the first horrified sight of Chiyume's blood had done.

It only lasted a split second and then Naruto blinked twice, as if he had just been awakened from some kind of deep sleep and when he looked at her again his eyes were the same dazzling blue as they had always been.

"Naruto..."

He turned to stare down onto his bleeding hand as if he had never seen it before.

Carefully, as if she was handling a fragile piece of glass, she walked up to him and took his hand and led him to the sink. He didn't resist, but somehow it felt as if he wasn't completely willing either.

It took a while before the water in the sink began flowing due to the many years of not being used, and once the first rust coloured gallons had gone through the pipes it finally became clear again. It was ice cold, but Naruto didn't even flinch when Sakura placed his wound underneath the running water.

"They're evil people." She said, sounding almost as if she was talking to a kid. "They don't care about how many lives they destroy as long as they get what they want." She reached into her pocket and took out one of the left over bandages she had there and began wrapping it around the blonde's hand. She knew that the wound would probably be gone before they even left the house, but somehow it felt wrong to leave it unattended.

"They simply don't care." She continued in a lower voice. "They're monsters that's all there's-..."

"You know that you're talking about him too now."

Sakura's hand froze for a moment but then she carried on with the task of treating the wound.

"He didn't do any of this." She stated, not really wanting to sound as if she was defending anyone.

"But he's with the people who did." Naruto countered.

Sakura finished the job by tying a knot at the base of the hand's wrist.

"I know...But still I can't imagine..."

An image of a thirteen year old Naruto, laying unconscious in a hospital bed with his entire body covered in bandages and a heart monitor next to the bed giving up sharp, penetrating beeps in time with his pulse flashed through her memory and she instantly cut herself off.

Yes, she could imagine him doing such a thing. She _knew_ that he could do such things. She just didn't want to think about it.

She looked up at Naruto and met his eyes once again and suddenly a terrible though passed through her mind.

"You're not saying... He didn't do those things to her, did he? She was there for so long; he can't be responsible for...!"

"No, I don't think that."

Naruto turned around to look out at the kitchen. His eyes locked on to an empty spot at the table in the middle of the room.

"Kabuto did it. Orochimaru probably encouraged him, but Kabuto's the one who did it in the end."

_But maybe he watched?_ came an unwanted voice from the back of his head. _Look here little Uchiha, this is what we do for fun around here, why don't you give it a try?_

He immediately shut the voice out. Sure, the bastard probably knew about that sick medic's little games, he wasn't stupid, but there was no way that he would have participated in it. He couldn't have turned into such a monster, there was just no way...

He was torn away from his thoughts from the touch of Sakura's hand on his shoulder and he returned to reality with a relieved little snap. Sometimes his thoughts could be a little bit to dark and depressing even for himself to handle. Probably from the constant influence of that damn fox he inhabited...

Next to him, Sakura gave his shoulder a light squeeze before she walked around to stand in front of him.

She grabbed him by the shoulders with both of her hands and stared into his eyes and said with a very clear voice;

"Naruto, I don't know why she came here out of all places any more than you do, but if she actually had a reason, then we'll ask her about it when she's well enough to answer, okay? For all we know it could have been just a coincidence. Scary and weird, yes, but still a coincidence."

He opened his mouth to say something but she quickly placed a reprimanding finger in front of his face.

"Now, what you need to do is to go home and get some rest. Kiba told me that you came to his house early this morning and from the looks of the bags under your eyes I'd say that you haven't slept that much during last night either. So you go home, I'll stay the night here with Chiyume and then we'll meet tomorrow and discuss what were going to do from there, okay?"

Once again he was about to open his mouth and tell her that it was not okay, but the look she gave him reminded way to much of Tsunade's end-of-discussion-glare for him to be willing to push his luck any further, so he settled with a nod.

Sakura gave him a smile and then she let go of his shoulders.

"Great. Kiba and Akamaru can stay here while I get some stuff from home. And _you_..." she poked him not too gently in the chest with her index finger " ...are going straight to bed and you're going to _stay_ there, even if I'll have to strap you down and lock you inside that apartment myself."

**Review and make me happy! Love ya!**


	18. Means of Communication

**Okey, I know, I know, I am perfectly aware of the fact that I've been gone for a loooong time, but I have perfectly legitimate reasons for it, I swear! **

**But in return I've made this chapter extra long just because of that particular reason. Can't tell how long it will take 'till the next chapter's out because I have some other stories to finish first, but I hope you'll have the patience to deal with me.**

**Amway's I hope you'll like this chapter and please review when you're done, you know this story means a lot to me. **

**Enjoy!**

**Means of Communication**

Two hours later there was a loud knock on Kakashi's front door, but the man barely had the time to glance over the edge of his Ichia-Icha Paradise before the door flung open and the blonde stalked into his apartment.

"Ah, Naruto. I was wondering when you were going to show up." He greeted cheerfully without lowering the book from his face.

Naruto didn't say anything, but he gave the silver-haired jounin a long, firm look, which he was sure the older man was able to feel even if he didn't meet it.

Kakashi made no attempt to leave the resting chair he was currently sitting in and he leisurely turned a page in the book with a light sigh.

"I take it that you've found her?" he asked without any major interest.

Naruto still didn't say anything and this time the silver haired jounin actually shot a quick look at him before going back to his reading.

Naruto was standing right in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest, his legs rebelliously spread and wearing a scowl on his face that easily could have rivalled that of Uchiha Sasuke himself.

Kakashi kept ignoring his student and after a while Naruto's patience began running thin.

"You were there." He stated loudly.

"Yes." Kakashi answered blankly.

"Paku found her."

"Barely."

"Why didn't you tell the ANBU?"

"Hokage's orders. I was told that if I found Chiyume the rest of the ANBU-squad would be sent in the opposite direction and the information on her whereabouts would be given directly to Gaara."

Naruto blinked.

Gaara?

That didn't make any sense. When Naruto talked with Gaara at the hospital the other hadn't showed any signs of knowing whether Chiyume was alive or not.

He looked down on the man in front of him.

"You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Nope."

Naruto bit his tongue to prevent himself from start yelling at the other man. This attitude of his was really starting to get on his nerves.

"And I suppose you had a reason for not doing that?" he asked slowly.

Kakashi sighed deeply, shut the book and placed it next to him on the armrest of the chair.

"How about the two ANBU units that the council posted to guard him?"

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"The council sent the ANBU after Gaara?" he asked stupefied. "Why?"

"They know that Gaara and the girl share some kind of bond with each other, so they probably thought that if she were to come back then he would be the first one she would approach. So to put it simple – Gaara is bait. So surely you can imagine what would happen if I just walked up to Gaara and told him where Chiyume was. Even if I would be able to deliver the message without being overheard they would discover the truth anyway once Gaara actually went to see her."

Naruto nodded. Yes, he could imagine. Furthermore he could also imagine what Gaara would do if they tried to take her away after finding her. The Uchiha District would be turned into a giant sandbox within the span of three minutes...

Kakashi leaned back in his chair and looked at him, obviously thinking the same thing.

"So, instead of doing something reckless like that, I simply had a little talk with him. Of course, he was already aware of the fact that he was being watched, but we came to the conclusion that even though both of you are the ones who Chiyume trusts the most, he was the only one being monitored. You weren't. Which in turn opened up a whole new world of opportunities."

Naruto's face instantly lit up again.

"Oh! So you're the one who told Gaara to tell me to ask Akamaru and Kiba for help?"

Kakashi scratched his head and smiled faintly behind the mask.

"Well, I wouldn't know anything about that... I didn't really tell him to do much of anything. We just talked about Chiyume's nature and how much her behaviour was similar to a cat's. I might have told him about that mission you guy's had when you were genin and I might also have told him how Kiba and the rest of his team solved the problem of finding the cat, but if he told you to do anything after that then it was all of his own free will."

"Well, he did tell me to go for a walk with Kiba and Akamaru but he never-...."

Wait a minute.

That wasn't really what had happened back then. No, Naruto had asked Gaara if... and then Gaara had suggested that he... But that had been a coincidence... right?

"Kakashi-sensei... Gaara never spoke to me about that genin-mission... I just though about it." He narrowed his eyes at the teacher. "Didn't I?"

Kakashi looked back at him and Naruto clearly saw the smug grin he now wore underneath the mask.

"You mean you _though_ that you thought it? Or maybe he just gave you a reminder?"

Naruto blinked again. This was starting to get a bit too complicated for him to keep up with.

"I don't get it."

Kakashi nodded, as if Naruto's confusion was something he had been expecting.

"Gaara mentioned something about that as well. Shikamaru and Neji said that something happened between you and Chiyume just before she ran away, and Gaara said that he had heard your voice echo all across Konoha during that same time, screaming her name. He had hurried to get to you, but once he did you were already passed out and Chiyume was gone."

He gave Naruto a long look.

"He said that you somehow managed to connect with her back then and even though it was only for a brief moment you shared the same link with her that she constantly shares with Gaara. Direct communication, insight into ones mind. When Gaara got to you, your entire chakra stream was buzzing with her energy and it has been doing so for the past week even though it's beginning to fade. Meanwhile, that link between you, Gaara and Chiyume has been wide open. Gaara isn't stupid; he knew that the safest way to talk with you would be through that link, he just didn't have time to explain to you exactly how it works in such a short amount of time and with the ANBU listening in on you."

Naruto stared at him while trying to take in the heap of new information, but the more he thought about it the more he felt a headache coming on and he groaned silently. Then another though seemed to hit him and his shoulders slouched.

"So it wasn't really my idea then was it?" he said sullenly.

Kakashi raised a brow.

"What idea?"

"The one about getting Kiba and Akamaru to help us find Chiyume. It was just Gaara telling me to do it."

"Are you completely sure about that? The thoughts and memories were yours to begin with. Gaara just reminded you of them. Perhaps you were the one who told Gaara and he just agreed with you?"

Naruto groaned and clutched his head. This was getting way too complicated, his brain felt as if it was about to burst.

Kakashi smiled and then picked up his Icha-Icha again, resuming his reading.

"Wouldn't it be better if you talked about this with Gaara himself? I'm sure he would be able to explain it much better than I can."

Naruto's head shot up.

That's right. He had to tell Gaara that they found Chiyume!

He turned around to walk out the door but then a thought hit him and he turned back towards the jounin in the chair with a scowl.

"Yo, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm?"

"When you found her... Chiyume I mean... Why didn't you do anything to help her?"

Kakashi lowered the book and peered over the edge of the cover, the uncovered eye suddenly looking extremely firm.

"Because the Chiyume I found would have ripped me into pieces if she had known I was there." He looked down on the book in his hand, but somehow his gaze seemed to go straight through it this time.

"I adore the girl, Naruto, take my word for it, but my affection won't be able to protect me from her like yours did, and no offence, but I'd like my head to stay exactly were it is for at least a while longer."

Naruto nodded silently, understanding exactly what his old teacher meant and then he left the apartment, closing the door tightly behind him.

-------------

-------------

It didn't take him long to find Gaara.

The other boy was sitting perched on one of the rooftops near the Konoha Stadium, overlooking the village. When Naruto's feet touched the roof tiles the Kazekage turned his head towards him and for a split second a scowl appeared on his face, only to quickly disappear and return the blank expression he usually wore before he redirected his gaze to the town once again.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, but Gaara intercepted him.

"Sit." He said in a low voice, pointing to a spot next to him.

Naruto's mouth clamped shut with a mute snap, but after a moment of hesitation he did as he was told. His entire being was itching to tell Gaara the news about Chiyume, but he knew the tone Gaara had used towards him just now, and it wasn't a tone he'd like to argue with. He had heard Kankuro do it once while they were away and the look Gaara had given him could have killed a rock!

He almost expected to receive one of those looks, for what reason he didn't know, but it never came. Instead it was his turn to scowl when Gaara spoke again, still with the same low voice and non-caring expression;

"Don't speak. I know."

Naruto stared at him, for some reason perfectly aware of what subject the redhead was referring to.

"What?! How?"

Gaara glanced at him and suddenly Naruto saw a re-run of himself landing on the rooftop behind them and heard his own voice basically blurt out the whole story about Chiyume in less than two seconds before he even had the chance to open his mouth!

He blinked and looked back at Gaara who averted his gaze once again.

"You already told me. Besides..."

For a second time, Naruto heard his own voice echo inside his mind, only this time it sounded much farther away and was accompanied with an impression of crimson fluid smeared out across wooden floor.

_Chiyume! Nononononono!_

"Four hours ago. I heard you all across town."

Naruto blinked. Heard him? But...?

Gaara looked at him again, this time raising one of his pale brows at him as well.

A wave of dignified mirth ghosted over the blonde and slowly, still a bit dazed, Naruto began to understand.

_You didn't figure it out yet? Honestly I thought you would be smarter than that._

Naruto instantly flared up when the feel of Gaara's amusement increased and he was absolutely sure that the other boy was mocking him.

_Hey! I woke up from a freaking coma just this morning, it's not like I've had any time to practice yet! Besides, you could have given me some hints, you know._

_Why? You seem to be doing fine. _

That's when Naruto finally realised that none of them were actually speaking, they were just sitting there looking at each other and his mouth fell open.

_See._ Gaara pointed out and Naruto quickly closed his mouth.

_So this is... how you two talk with each other?_

_More or less. There are some differences, but basically it's the same._

_Oh... So that's how you knew._

_Yes._

Naruto looked at the red head. He couldn't really put his finger on what it was, but something about this way of communicating felt different Of course, they were talking with each other without uttering a single sound, but that wasn't it.

Normally, talking with Gaara was like talking through some kind of thin, glass wall. You saw him, and you heard him, but you still couldn't _reach_ him. Now, all of a sudden it felt as if someone had opened up a hole in that wall and for once they were able to talk directly, freely.

_Ah, so that's what she meant?_

Gaara sounded as if he was talking to himself, but Naruto still shot him a confused glance which Gaara returned with a shrug.

_Chiyume once asked me why I bothered to have a door if I wasn't going to open it. I didn't know what she meant, but apparently she had a point._

Then Gaara's eyes suddenly grew cold.

_Why did she say that? _He asked harshly.

"What?" Naruto blinked, not really catching on to what Gaara was talking about, and then he was hit with one of the weirdest sensations he had ever come across in his life. It felt like a light, even pressure against his skull, not like a headache, but close enough and then a mix of red and brown flashed through his mind as Gaara's conscious started to seep into his own. The memory of Chiyume lying on the floor in Sasuke's old bedroom overflowed his mind, the blood soaking her clothes, nails digging into skin, the scratchy whisper... no not a whisper. A though. A thought, repeated, over and over, for weeks, months. Years.

_Animals belongs in cages_

Pacing, like an animal, pacing back and forth.

_Footsteps. _

_Pacing... back, forth, back, forth... Echo, echo... Water, streaming water, running, trickling, dripping, drip, drip, drip..._

Other images and sounds began to mix with the first one, images of dark, wet stone walls, the sound of growls and claws scratching metal bars. A torch, blinding light, a voice, so familiar.

_Animals belongs in cages_

Then it all disappeared as Gaara's senses pulled back and Naruto had to clench his teeth due to the sudden nausea that overwhelmed him when the world around him began spinning.

What the hell just happened?

_Sorry. I didn't mean to do that._

Naruto opened his eyes, he wasn't aware of when he had closed them, and squinted at Gaara who, believe it or not, actually looked slightly ashamed.

"You... Was that?"

"Her memories? Yes. I couldn't stop them. It's just... that sentence..." he trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid, but Naruto still understood.

There was something about that phrase that was important, something that had triggered all those memories in Gaara's brain. It hadn't been said by Chiyume to begin with, she had heard it somewhere. Somebody had said it to her.

He tried to recall the memory again, a hand, a torch, white light that cut into his eyes, a voice... What voice?

He groaned and rubbed his eyes. The headache from before was coming back, if not stronger and he felt his concentration beginning to slip away.

Gaara gave him an evaluating look.

"Don't push yourself. Give your brain some time to get used to it first."

Naruto groaned again, but nodded. Right now he just wanted to sleep, he felt like his body had turned into led. But on the other hand he still had so much he wanted to know about this; he didn't have time to sleep. Most of all he wanted to go back to the Uchiha district and join the watch with Sakura, but he suspected that his team mate wouldn't be so happy about that. (If she knew that he still hadn't gone back to his apartment like she ordered him to, he would be in big trouble already.)

He had so many questions! But hey, what if Gaara could tell him instead? Maybe he knew why Chiyume had been hiding at Sasuke's house? But if he had known anything about Sasuke, wouldn't he have told him about it already? Gaara would never hold back vital information like that. Maybe he didn't know... Then what about Chiyume? What should they do when she woke up? Should they ask her about it, or let her be, let her recover and then ask? What if she didn't want to tell them, or what if she turned hostile, or...

_Could you _please_ stop doing that? _

The snap of Gaara's voice tore right trough his thoughts and when he looked up he saw that the red head had his eyes closed and that an annoyed scowl was adorning his features.

_Stop doing what?_

_Screaming._

_Screaming?_ Naruto didn't get it.

_You're doing this;_

Millions of thoughts immediately began ripping through his head, why, when, what, who, where, if, if, if. Emotions were washing over him like a massive tidal wave, an incoherent jumble of anxiety, fear, concern, worry, guilt, anger, eagerness, shame, hope, confusion, impatience, disappointment – whirling, dragging, pulling with such force that he basically had to brace himself against the roof to prevent himself from falling over.

The onslaught was _horrible!_

Then just as fast, it was all gone and he could breathe once more, only somewhere along the line he had closed his eyes again, and this time he wasn't planning on opening them anytime soon.

He could feel how Gaara's eyes were digging in to him and the reprimanding aura radiating of the sand-nin felt thick enough to touch.

_Screaming. Stop it._

Naruto couldn't even bring himself to nod. No screaming. Got it.

Groaning, he reached up and rubbed at his temples, trying to will the intense head ache away, but to no use.

_How do you stand this?_

_It hurts less after a while. You'll get used to it._

_You mean I'm going to walk around with a constant migraine? Remind me to give Chiyume a hug when she wakes up._

_If she wakes up._

Naruto opened his eyes again and glanced over at Gaara.

"Don't say that." He said silently. "She will."

Gaara slowly turned his head to face him, and even though his expression was as blank as ever Naruto could feel the anxiety that was radiating of his body.

_I can't feel her. _

A short flicker of something bright green flashed through Naruto's mind and even though he had never been aware of it before, he instantly recognized Chiyume's aura along with - for some odd reason - the taste of lemons.

Gaara looked at him and gave him a barely noticeable nod.

_You couldn't either. You were there; you saw her, touched her, but you couldn't feel her. She's not there anymore. It's all empty._

Naruto slowly shook his head, as in denial.

_She spoke._

_No. She echoed. What you heard was just a fragmented piece of her mind. She didn't even know you were there._

_But... Sakura said that she was stabile._

_Vitally. Not mentally. She wouldn't be able to feel that._

_But..._

_We wait. If she wakes up..._

_When._

Gaara glanced at him.

When_ she wakes up. If she's..._

The impression of the word '_harmless_' fluttered in the edge of Naruto's conscious, but it quickly disappeared as soon as he tried to focus on it and instead what he heard Gaara say was '_in control_'.

He looked up and met the other's eyes and nodded silently. He understood.

Gaara sighed and for some reason, just because it was Gaara or perhaps because of this newly opened link between them, Naruto thought that sigh sounded way more depressing than it should have. As if sensing the blonde's mental frown Gaara turned and gave him a small smile, not more than a light curve of his lip, but enough to make Naruto's mood rise again. He felt the light pressure of Gaara's conscious against his mind, but unlike when he had entered his memories earlier, this felt less intrusive and much more like comforting. Like the light touch of a hand on the shoulder. It lasted only a second before it disappeared, but coming from Gaara it was a pretty big gesture.

_You'll get your answers my friend. Until then - we wait._

-----------

-----------

It took almost a week, but when it happened, it happened with a bang. Or at least in Naruto's case.

He was sitting by his kitchen table, slurping loudly from a cup of instant ramen when suddenly lightning struck. For a moment he though someone had directed a spotlight straight into his face because everything turned blinding white, but then the pain kicked in. Sharp as a knife's edge it cut straight through his frontal lobe and into his brain, causing him to immediately clench his eyes shut and open his mouth to scream on pure reflex, but the second after that his head got violently tossed back as if someone had punched him, sending him falling backwards and off his kitchen chair in the process. As he landed he banged the back of his head into the floor and another sharp flash of pain seared through his skull, accompanied by another one in his mouth when he bit his tongue on impact.

He tried to sit up, but the muscles in his stomach were clenching and unclenching and it _hurt_, god damn it! Lifting his arms that seemed to have turned into led, he clenched his hands around his head and tried to concentrate on breathing, not to panic, staying _calm_, but the pain, oh sweet lord the _pain_...! He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, he was dying, he was _dying_!

_Make it stop! _

His eyes shot up and despite the overwhelming agony he was in he felt his heart jolt with joy.

It was Chiyume! She was awake!

_Chiyume, can you hear me?!_

_Hurts...! Make... stop!_

_I know, you've been injured, but it's alright now, just...!_

He clenched his teeth when the pain in his head suddenly shifted. Fire was rapidly engulfing his arms and his stomach, it stung and burned in a way that made the pain from before feel like a minor bruise. What was she doing?!

_Chiyume! Calm down!_

Wounds were opening up on his arms and his stomach, blood poured over his skin, wetting his hands, his clothes and the floor underneath him.

_Chiyume, please...!_

She was panicking, he could feel her heart racing in time with his own and she was scared, oh she was so scared. She had to calm down, she had to _breathe_!

And then it all stopped and he was alone.

With a horrified gasp he sat up, fully prepared to catch his insides when they came falling out from what had felt like a gaping hole in his abdomen, but there was nothing to be seen. No blood, no entrails, no wound, nothing.

As soon as he sat up his head began spinning and he fell back down against the floorboards with a strained groan, feeling his breath trying it's best to claw its way back into his lungs. Through the daze in his mind he could feel how tears began to trickle down his face, but he couldn't find the strength to raise his arm and wipe them away.Judging by the soar feeling in his throat he must have been screaming his head off... or had Chiyume been the one screaming?

He somehow managed to roll over to lay on his side, but when he propped himself up to start crawling on his hands and knees he had to lean his head against the floor once again and force himself to breathe deeply to keep from throwing up.

This was awful! The migraine his conversation with Gaara had given him had been pure child's play in comparison to this!

He had barely finished the sentence when another overwhelming sense of nausea came rolling over him accompanied with the sound of Gaara's voice.

_Naruto? Are you alright?_

Naruto fell down on his elbows and fought the urge to vomit, trying to think about what a mess he would make if he didn't even make it to the kitchen sink first. He felt a light flutter in the outskirts of his mind, but it quickly pulled back again, something he was sincerely grateful for.

_You felt it too, didn't you?_

Was it just the headache or did Gaara sound a bit off as well?

_Compared to your current state I would say I'm coping pretty well. _Gaara snorted.

_There's no need for you to be... uhg... comparing anything... you know..._

Damn, even _thinking_ hurt!

_You have to go to her, now._

This time it was Naruto's turn to snort.

_Yeah, as you can feel, I'm basically bolting out the door at the moment... _

_Just get there as fast as you can. Something is wrong._

A quick image of pink hair drenched in blood flashed through his mind and Naruto's eyes snapped open.

_What do you mean 'wrong'?_

There was a long pause.

_Gaara? _

_I don't know. Her sight was very blurry._

_Did something happen to Sakura? What did you see?_

Again that single impression of pink covered in crimson flickered before his eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly. Gaara was pulling away.

_It doesn't matter what I saw, it's too late to change it now._

_No, tell me what you saw! Gaara, is Sakura hurt? Did she hurt Sakura!?_

_Just get there. Quickly._

_Gaara wait! _

"Damn it!"

--------------

--------------

Kiba was sitting on the stairs with Akamaru's head in his lap, resting his head against the rail. His hands were newly washed, but there were still traces of blood smeared out on his jacket and face. Both dog and boy seemed completely exhausted and ready to fall dead asleep at any moment, which somehow explained why both of them shot up from their seats like Chinese firecrackers when Naruto threw the front door to the Uchiha estate open and bolted in.

"Is she alright?!" the blonde hollered out before the other two had even gotten the chance to land on the floor again.

"Shit, man! Can't you at least knock first? I thought the ANBU..."

"Where's Sakura?! Did Chiyume hurt her?!"

Kiba scowled.

"Hey, how do you know Chiyume-...?"

He got cut of when Naruto roughly grabbed hold of his arm and forced him to step down from the staircase and come face to face with him.

"Kiba, _where_?!

"Upstairs! Jeez man, don't get so worked up..."

Naruto was already climbing the steps, his feet barely touching the wood on his way up.

There had been blood on Kiba's clothes! Who's blood? Chiyume's or Sakura's?

He skidded through the upper hallway and up to the door, but he didn't get the chance to even put his hand on the doorknob before it opened from the inside and Sakura stepped out.

There was blood in her hair, as well on her clothes and her hands were basically covered in it, and Naruto was absolutely sure he felt his heart skip at least ten beats in a row.

Sakura were holding a piece of cloth and was using it to wipe off her hands, but she stopped when she came face to face with the blonde on the other side of the door.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?"

Naruto tore his eyes away from the crimson fluid and stared at her face, which also carried several ruby-red smudge marks.

Sakura gave him a questioning look, but then she seemed to realise how she must look and her eyes widened.

"Oh! No, Naruto this isn't mine! It was Chiyume, she woke up and..."

Naruto's eyes quickly darted from Sakura's face to the room behind her and before she had even finished her sentence he had pushed beyond her and up to the bed where Chiyume's immobile body was lying on new, clean sheets.

Her entire torso was wrapped in bandages, as were her arms and hands, but she was breathing, seemingly peacefully asleep.

Naruto's knees suddenly felt weak and he had to lean himself against the wall to keep them from giving out on him. They were okay, both of them.

Sakura walked up to him and laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, are you alright? You look a little pale?"

The blonde shook his head and rubbed his eyes roughly before straightening up.

"I'm fine... What happened?"

"She woke up and started screaming and clawing on her arms again, trying to rip the bandages off. The wound in her stomach opened up as well. I had to do something to stop her from hurting herself any more so I... blacked her out."

"Blacked her out?"

"With a jutsu. Don't worry, it just sends her off to sleep. If I did it right she'll wake up in another day or two."

Naruto slowly let his hand trail over the spot where the pain in his stomach had been earlier and flinched slightly at the memory.

"Won't she be in pain if she wakes up so soon? I mean..." He trailed off but his eyes couldn't help but to lock onto the new bandages wrapped around Chiyume's arms.

Sakura followed his gaze and to his surprise she actually smiled.

"No, she won't. Now that I know that she's in fact healing on her own, then I can help her. I'll have to do it slowly and during short sessions so that by passers won't sense anything, but considering our location, I don't think the risk is that high."

"So she'll be okay?"

"Yupp. In a week she'll be as good as new."

"Right... Okay..."

Sakura watched as Naruto turned and began walking to the door, mumbling and counting something on his fingers.

"Where are you going?"

"Getting some stuff from my apartment. I'm staying here until she wakes up."

---------------

---------------

The chair in the corner of the room didn't start to feel uncomfortable untill the first four hours of trying to sleep in it had passed, but then he were forced to give up and simply laid down on the floor with a blanket and his jacket tucked under his head as a pillow.

Chiyume's breathing was calm and the only other sounds were he silent creaks from the house as the wood shifted in the cold night air.

Naruto couldn't sleep. Of course he was worried about Chiyume, but the house in itself was enough to make him restless.

Sasuke's house.

Sasuke's room.

It was funny actually... during their genin years Naruto had never been to Sasuke's home. He had just been standing outside it once or twice, but never been inside.

His eyes slowly roamed over the moonlit walls and along the ceiling and out the balcony windows. Yes, there was a balcony. There had been drapes pulled in front of the glass when he came there the first time and in his state of panic he had completely overlooked it.

Now the drapes were pulled aside and the moon had free access to the room and was literally bathing it in silver.

Was it this view Sasuke had been looking at the night he decided to go away?

His hand went in under his jacket and after a few seconds of rummaging he pulled out a forehead protector from one of the pockets.

The Konoha symbol on the polished steel was adorned by an uneven scratch mark right through the middle and he slowly let the other hand's index finger trail along the marking. His fingernail was way to blunt to fit in it now, but he knew that when this cut was made his nails had not been their normal selves. Nothing about him had been normal back then.

Sighing loudly he rolled over to the side, hearing his spine give a loud crackling sound as he raised it from the rigid surface of the floor.

Oh, why didn't he take his sleeping bag when he went back to the apartment? First thing tomorrow he was going back to get it, end of discussion. One more night like this and he would go crazy!

------------

------------

"She hasn't woken up yet?"

Kiba looked up from his breakfast when Naruto entered the Kitchen. Naruto silently shook his head and sat down on the chair opposite to Kiba's and folded his arms on the surface to rest his head on them, staring off into space.

It had been four days and Chiyume was still deep asleep, without a much as a single shift or murmur during the whole time. As for Naruto, he had barely slept at all. Getting the sleeping bag hadn't been much of an improvement except for the warmth, but that was also it. He still spent his nights staring at the ceiling or out the window whilst listening to Chiyume's breathing, trying not to think about what would happen if she didn't wake up, or if the ANBU found them, or most of all, about Sasuke. What he was doing at that very moment, if he knew what was going on, about why Chiyume had chosen his house out of all the abandoned houses in this district to hide in...

He knew that the lack of sleep must make him look awful, but he didn't care. Sakura had said that Chiyume would wake up in about two days and now that time had doubled, going on a fifth and it made him nervous. Why was it taking so long?

He had tried to get in touch with Gaara again, but the only thing he got from that effort was a headache, and he hadn't been able to ask Sakura about Chiyume's condition either because she only had so much time during her lunch to heal Chiyume before she was forced to go back to the hospital and her duties there before Tsunade realised that she was missing. Not that it would matter much if Tsunade actually knew about Chiyume's location, but they would have big problems if the Hokage came looking for her, thus bringing half of the council's spies with her in the process...

Oh, that stupid council, if they could just mind their own business for a change...!

Thanks to them Chiyume might never wake up again, just because they can't take her to a proper hospital because then the ANBU will take her and throw her into prison or something. If only the Hunters hadn't come after her, then she wouldn't have attacked anyone, she would have been safe and the council would never had have to find out about her... _condition_. If he had been stronger, he would have been able to help her; she wouldn't have had to turn into that thing. If he had been stronger he would have been able to defeat Orochimaru, or perhaps Kabuto during the chuunin-exams, just imagine how much suffering she could have been saved from... If he had been stronger, so much could have been different... Now, instead here they were, just sitting around, doing nothing whilst waiting for a sign, some ridiculously tiny detail that would tell them what they would face when, or if, the girl on the second floor finally woke up, just because some people in this world just couldn't mind their own, fucking, business...!

He maliciously kicked the table leg, causing Kiba's glass of milk to do a little twirl and then topple over, splashing milk all over the tabletop.

"Hey, watch it man!"

Kiba shot up from the chair with a surprised cry and barely avoided to get his lap completely flooded, while Akamaru, who had been asleep underneath the table got the entire waterfall dumped over his head.

Naruto got up and quickly stalked over to the sink and snatched a washcloth that was hanging over the faucet, then proceeding with throwing the cloth on the table and began dragging it through the little white lake in frantic swipes, only managing to slosh the milk around even more. Akamaru hurried to get out of the way when another load of liquid came dribbling down onto the floor and gave a quiet, but reprimanding bark in the process, but Naruto didn't seem to notice. He just kept mumbling hard-set excuses under his breath while pushing the milk around and over the edge of the table.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking... that was stupid... so stupid.... It's my fault, I'm sorry..."

Kiba watched his friend's hurried attempt to clean up and felt an uncomfortable stir in his stomach. There was a creepy, distant look in Naruto's eyes that he didn't like...

"Hey, man, why don't you let me do that?" he offered and took a step closer to the table, but Naruto waved him off.  
"No, no, I've got it."

As he said it, the blonde also leaned over the surface and placed his entire jumpsuit jacket in the liquid, seemingly without even noticing. Kiba quirked a brow at him.

"You sure? I mean, I can help."

"No, I made the mess; I'll clean it up. It was my fault... It was all my fault...."

More milk hit the floor as Naruto's movement became even more hurried. A piece of bread and a slice of cheese soon followed when the washcloth swiped them aside as well, still without any sign from Naruto that showed that he was aware of what he was doing. Kiba slowly reached out a hand towards his friend, now finding the situation not only uncomfortable, but also pretty damn scary... For some reason it felt like the washcloth in Naruto's hand was more dangerous at this moment than any weapon could ever be.

"Naruto... Give me the rag."

"No. No, I've got it."

"Naruto, just hand it to me and sit down."

"I'ts alright, I've got it."

"Naruto..."

"God damn it, Kiba, I said I've got it!"

A heavy silence instantly lowered itself over the kitchen. Kiba stared at the blonde in chock and Naruto glared right back with a vicious, to Kiba almost red, glint in his eyes. In the corner Akamaru whimpered and wagged his tail once, but then quickly went still.

The flow of milk ebbed out into drops that were steadily splashing down onto the floor, a sound that in the sudden silence almost felt deafening.

Kiba didn't know what to say. This clearly wasn't the Naruto he was used to be around, and even if he knew that Naruto could get pretty nasty when he lost his temper, he would never have thought that he would be able to turn this quickly against one of his own friends.

"Naruto, I..." he cleared his throat. "I didn't... I just wanted to help... You know?"

Naruto kept glaring at him, but some of the tension in his shoulders seemed to loosen up.

Kiba dared a quick glance at Akamaru and the big dog slowly padded over to his side and pressed his nose against his hand.

"I'm just worried about you, man. You don't sleep, I haven't seen you eat since you got here and you spend all your time sitting up in that room all on your own. I mean... Jeez man, you don't _talk_ anymore!"

He threw out his arms and gave the blonde a helpless look.

"You _always_ talk..."

Blue eyes shifted from the dog-nin to the washcloth still clutched tightly in between tanned fingers and then proceeded to look out over the chaos the breakfast table had turned into. Slowly the fingers started to uncurl themselves from the soaked fabric and soon the rag fell down onto the floor with a wet slap.

Akamaru gave a low, but happy bark before sitting down on the floor with his tongue dangling from his mouth in a huge dog-grin and his tail cheerfully banging away against the floorboards in a steady rhythm.

Kiba sighed deeply and sat down on his chair again, not caring about the droplets of milk that was on it.

"We're all worried, you know. Damn, sometimes I feel like tearing this entire house apart, I'm so restless. But I don't. Because I know it wouldn't do any good."

Naruto looked up when Akamaru barked and scratched the floor with his front paw. Kiba nodded and gestured with his head towards the big dog.

"Yeah, he's worried too. You know he's chewed up two chairs and half a coffee table since we got here? I'm afraid to let him go upstairs cause then the girl might end up with no bed all of a sudden."

At that Naruto actually laughed, not more than a silent snort perhaps, but still a laugh and Kiba felt some of the weight disappear from his chest.

"See? You shouldn't worry so much; it'll screw up your system."

Naruto looked up and opened his mouth to say something but at that moment there was a soft thump heard from the ceiling above them.

Both boys froze, eyes widened and as they held their breaths the sound was heard again.

Naruto was first up the stairs, but before he had reached the top step Akamaru came flashing by him in a blur of white and basically barged straight through the door, almost making it jump of its hinges.

When Kiba and Naruto reached the door they were met with the sight of Chiyume sitting on the floor next to the bed and leaning against Akamaru with both of her hands wrapped tightly around the big dog's neck, her face buried deeply in his fur.

The bandages that had been covering her hands had been torn into shreds, freeing her fingers, but thankfully the ones on her arms and torso were still intact and no blood could be seen.

When she spotted the other two standing in the doorway she tensed up and clinged tighter to the dog.

Naruto could feel the insecurity and suspicion that radiated off of her and he quickly placed his hand over Kiba's chest to prevent him from venturing any further into the room.

Chiyume's eyes were bright green, something he found relieving beyond words, but they were narrowed in a way that left no doubt in his mind that this wasn't going to become a very happy reunion.

Akamaru was wagging his tail like crazy and didn't seem to care a single bit if the girl in front of him liked his friends or not, as long as she was awake.

Chiyume looked at Kiba and then followed the hand splayed across his chest and then locked eyes with Naruto. As soon as their eyes connected, Naruto felt a light 'pop' right behind his eyes and then Chiyume was inside his head.

That strange taste that seemed to be a mix between lemons and honey became heavy on his tongue when Chiyume plunged into his memories and began sorting through them in such a heartbreaking speed it made his sight go blurry. The events from the last couple of weeks rushed by him like the images from a feverish dream, all the things he had felt, all the things he had said and done, everyone he had talked to. The onslaught was overwhelming and came so sudden without any kind of warning it made his knees buckle underneath him and had Kiba not been there to catch him he would probably fallen to the floor.

"Hey, Naruto, you okay?"

"Yeah... I'm just..." he released himself from Kiba's grip and stood up on wobbly legs and nodded weakly towards Chiyume. "She's updating."

Kiba didn't look like he understood what the blonde was talking about, but he decided not to push the subject any further. Instead he glanced over at the girl that was still holding on to Akamaru as if he was her only lifeline. Her face showed no emotion and even though her eyes were locked onto Naruto they had an empty glace over them as if she was looking straight through him.

Naruto suddenly gave a low groan next to him and Kiba turned around just in time to see his eyes fluttered and how he began to sway dangerously back and forth.

"Naruto!"

Naruto didn't even have the strength to try and explain to Kiba what it felt like to have your psychic barriers breached and torn down like that, so instead he just waved his hand to let him know that he was fine.

"It's okay... I... this always happens..."

Kiba seemed doubtful and once again he gave the girl a cautious look.

"But, she's... okay, right? I mean, it's _her_, not that other... thing?"

Naruto shook his head.

"No, it's her... it's all her..."

On the other side of the room Chiyume snorted, the kind that Naruto recognised as her 'of-course-snort' and then the presence of her psyche withdrew from his mind so quickly and ungentle that the blonde didn't even get time to brace himself against the nausea he knew would come and promptly fell back against the wall with a groan.

Akamaru was still wagging his tail as if nothing had happened and he looked at Kiba happily and then barked once. Kiba himself looked from his friend who was now panting heavily and covering his eyes with his hands to the girl crouching behind the bed.

"Naruto... what's going on here?"

Naruto's head was spinning violently and Kiba's voice was reaching him from miles away, but even through the daze he could feel Chiyume's consciousness pacing back and forth just beyond the edge of his mind, like a cornered animal who doesn't know whether to stay or run.

"Talk to her." he managed to croak out. When did his throat get so dry anyway?

Kiba himself looked as if he'd rather not, but he slowly started to edge his way closer to the bed and the duo sitting next to it on the floor.

"Chiyume...? Erh... How are you feeling?"

God, how lame wasn't that?!

"Um... You've been injured." He motioned to the bandages on her arm, but her face showed no emotion of noticing and her eyes stayed fixed on Naruto.

"Chiyume? Can you hear me?"

No response.

Could Akamaru stop wagging his tail for just a second?! And that stupid mutt-grin was starting to become really annoying!

"Naruto, she doesn't seem like she's... listening."

Of course, Naruto could have told him that himself. Chiyume had her entire focus on him, which meant that Kiba and Akamaru were nothing but minor annoyances. He had to do this himself.

Opening his eyes took more out of him than he had thought, but once he had it was much easier to get back up on his feet and start walking. It was as if he was going on autopilot. His surroundings were wavy and unstable, like the mirrors in a funhouse and the only solid point in the room were Chiyume's eyes.

"Chiyume... what's wrong?"

Even his voice sounded foggy and each step felt like he dropped a thousand feet through thin air before he found a solid footing.

"Chiyume?"

'_Why you come here?'_

'_What?'_

"_Here. You. Why?'_

The hostility in her thoughts was expected, but the anger she directed at him was not, so he stopped moving closer. Nice and easy...

'_You got injured and ran away, we were worried about you.'_

'_I safe here. Don't need help.'_

"Chiyume, if you're scared that we're going to be mad at you, we're not, okay? We understand that you couldn't control what happened, it wasn't your fault."

He glanced at Kiba for support, which the dog-nin gave without a moments of hesitation.

"Yeah, you couldn't help it. Nobody's mad at you."

'_Go away.'_

'_Chiyume, we're not leaving you.'_

Stepping closer, Naruto slowly reached out and pushed Akamaru to the side and crouched down in front of the girl.

'_You're safe with us. We'll help you, we promised we would, remember?'_

Finally Chiyume's eyes averted from his and down to the floor and the volume of her thoughts lowered to a mere whisper.

'_I hurt you...'_

'_That wasn't you.'_

'_There was blood on you.'_

'_It wasn't your fault.'_

'_You screamed.'_

'_Chiyume, stop it.'_

'_I could hear you. Too far away...'_

'_Chiyume, stop it!'_

Without thinking about what he was doing, Naruto reached out and pulled the raven girl close to his chest. He had expected a struggle, but Chiyume just followed with the motion and ended up resting her head against his shoulder.

'_Nobody's blaming you. What happened wasn't your fault; it was that thing that they put inside you. It was instincts, you couldn't help it.' _

For some reason he felt a tight constriction inside his chest, as if he was about to cry, but he couldn't tell if the feeling was his own or Chiyume's.

'_Chiyume, you can't blame yourself for what happened to me. That was my own fault, do you understand?'_

There was a light snivel next to his ear and he felt Chiyume's hands reach up and clutch at his jacket. The lump in his chest moved up to his throat and his sigh grew blurry once again.

Oh god, he was going to break down into tears at any given moment.

'_We'll help you. Just let us, okay?'_

Chiyume sobbed again and just like before he felt the emotions swirl around him, not able to tell his from hers even if his life depended on it.

She didn't cry for long, it was over before it even started and her shoulders relaxed underneath his hands before she let out a silent sigh.

Kiba had been watching the entire event unfold from the other side of the bed, but he couldn't for his life understand what the hell just happened. Chiyume went from hostile to sad to this in less than three minutes and Naruto had only spoken a single sentence.

He watched Naruto clumsily pat her back and he heard the girl snivel against his shoulder. All in all it looked like a quite peaceful event. At least until Akamaru stopped wagging his tail and slowly started to back away.

Chiyume snivelled again, and then a third time and then yet another one. That's when Kiba realised that she wasn't snivelling, she was _sniffing_.

Next to him, Akamaru hunched down and whimpered silently, feeding the sudden anxiety that had settled in his owner's chest.

"Uhm... Naruto...?"

Naruto shifted and gave him a questioning look. Why did Kiba sound so nervous?

That's when Chiyume started to growl and Naruto's spirit sunk.

Suddenly the cornered, pacing animal he had felt before had suddenly turned into a vicious lion that where circling its prey and her fury was so radiant it almost felt like starring into the sun.

She was mad at him... Why was she mad at him?!

"Naruto, let go of her!"

But there was no time. In the next moment Naruto got ruthlessly tossed aside and hit the floor in the middle of the room and before neither he nor Kiba could react, Chiyume was on top of him, her eyes glowing like burning beacons.

"Theif!" she snarled.

"Wha-?!"

"Theif! Stolen! Give it back!"

Naruto desperately tried to shield his face and body with his arms, not having a clue what the hell was going on. Chiyume was growling and clawing at him, he could hear claws or nails tear through the fabric of his jacket, but he couldn't bring himself to fight back. Why was she doing this?! What did he do?!

"Not yours! Give it back! Not _yours_!"

"Chiyume, stop it!" Kiba made an attempt to move to his friends rescue, but he didn't get more than a few steps before Akamaru was there, blocking his path.

"Theif! Stolen!"

There was a loud ripping sound and suddenly Chiyume's weight was gone. Naruto scrambled up from the floor thinking that Kiba must've finally managed to get her off, but instead he found that Chiyume was now sitting huddled up on the other side of the room in the same corner where they had found her a week ago, clutching something to her chest and glaring at him.

"Not yours. Stolen. Thief... _Theif_!"

The last she spat out with a growl and Naruto almost thought that she was going to jump him again, but instead she turned her full attention to the object in her hands and began stroking it gently and hushing it, as if it was a child that needed comfort.

"What did she take?" Kiba whispered, staring at the now completely calm girl in the corner.

Naruto looked down at his jumpsuit jacket and almost whimpered at the sight. The front had been torn into shreds and the zipper was hanging limply, split in half almost all the way down where it came to an abrupt stop since the lower part had been cut clean off by something seemingly _very_ sharp.

After a quick check for physical injuries, which he for some miraculous reason didn't have, he began going through what was left of his pockets. Suddenly he froze. He patted the front of his jacket, slowly at first and then more hurriedly, turning the pockets inside out, looking around at the floor and then back at the girl.

Kiba scowled.

"What?"

Naruto watched as Chiyume raised the blue fabric in her hands and brought it to her face, closed her eyes and sniffed it, inhaling it's scent deeply through her nose, and for maybe he first time he saw serenity fall over her features. Tensions he had never noticed fell away, muscles relaxed and for a split second she almost looked like she was asleep.

Sasuke's hitaiate gleamed and a thin layer of condensation formed on the steely surface when Chiyume exhaled, disappeared when she inhaled, over and over. It was as if the forehead protector provided her with some sort of sedative comfort, or rather, the smell of it. But... wait a minute. The _smell_ of it?

"Kiba... can you smell... whatever it is she's smelling?"

Kiba shook his head. Whatever it was Chiyume scented he couldn't sense it. But then again, she had always been able to scent things he couldn't...

"You don't think... that she's able to... you know? I mean it's been almost four years, you've carried that thing around since forever! There can't be anything left of Sasuke's scent, that'd be impossible!"

Chiyume's head immediately snapped up and she stared at Kiba.

"Sasuke?"

Naruto's mouth went dry as a flash of familiarity that wasn't his stabbed his chest. She knew his name?

Her green eyes shifted to his blue ones.

"Sasuke?" she repeated, more urgent this time.

Images began to flicker before him. Dark caves with running water, metal bars, a burning torch, the glimpse of a face...

_He was there._

Chiyume looked at him, he thought he could hear her say something, but he wasn't sure.

Pressure on his skull, searching, tentatively, carefully and he didn't try to stop her this time.

The running, black waters changed into a waterfall. Cold cave walls became high cliffs with two statues, a lake took form through the mist... Sasuke's face stained by black marks...

_To me you have become my closest friend..._

Sasuke's voice was clear, as if he had been standing right next to him. That ignorant look he had given him, the cold radiating off of him. The grief he'd felt when he realised that he wouldn't be able to bring him back without a fight...

The touch of Chiyume's mind was gentle, comforting, as if she understood the pain it caused him to look back at that day, but the memories kept flowing.

_I'm gonna beat you senseless and take you back with me even if I have to drag you!_

_What the hell could you, who was alone from the start, understand about me?!_

_I won't let Orochimaru take you!_

Oh god, Sasuke.

"Dobe."

Chiyume's voice was low, but it snapped Naruto out of the memorial daze he was in, only to find that Chiyume had left the corner and was no standing right in front of him.

"What...?"

"Dobe." She held up the forehead protector. "You Dobe?"

Naruto just stared at her. All this time... and the thought had never crossed his mind... Why else would she have come here, out of all places?

She could still smell him. After all this time his scent was still so strong, seeped into the very structure of the building. She picked this house because of his scent... she picked a place where she felt safe.

Once again, Kiba was left clueless. He knew that Naruto and Chiyume had just shared something very intimate, but he didn't understand _what_ except for the fact that it had something to do with Sasuke. What the hell was going on??

"Naruto... why is she-..."

"It was him..."

"What?"

Akamaru pattered up to the blonde and licked his hand, like an act of comfort, but Naruto didn't react.

"Who 'him'? You mean Sasuke?"

"It was him. He's the one who did it."

Chiyume looked at him and then dropped down to the floor to give Akamaru a hug, still clutching the hitaiate tightly in her hand.

Kiba looked from the girl to the dog and then back up at Naruto who was still staring out into nothing, looking as if he had just solved the biggest riddle of all time.

"I don't get it. What did he do? Did he torture her, is that it?!"

Naruto shook his head.

"No."

"Then what did he do?"

Chiyume looked up at the dog-nin and then reached out and nudged Naruto's hand with her own, mimicking Akamaru's movement from before.

"He's the one who did it. Gaara didn't recognize him because it was so dark down there... back then. The torch was blinding... she couldn't see."

Naruto's hand moved and reached out to barely brush against one of Chiyume's fingers, then he turned around and looked at Kiba and it didn't come as a shock to the brunet to see that the blonde had tears in his eyes.

"He saved her, Kiba. He got her out."

**Dum-dum-dum-duuuum!!!!!!**

**Hehe, I know some of you've probably already figured it out, but in the story this is quite a big revelation.**

**Now, there's only a few more chapters to go. It's the beginning of the end my friends, make sure to revel in it.**

**Oh, and if you review, would you do me a SUPER-JUMBO-MEGA-favour and tell me what you THINK is going to happen next? **

**I'd like to see how predictable I am ;) **

**Thanx for reading!**


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